C.J. Stroud's Nightmare Day Dooms Texans in Divisional Round
The quarterback didn't bounce back from Monday's shaky performance and the season is over
The Houston Texans saw their season come to an end at the hands of the New England Patriots. The Texans lost 28-16.
Here are 14 observations from the loss to the Patriots that ended the season.
The Houston Texans remain unable to break through the divisional wall. The defense was a Super Bowl-caliber defense, and it feels wasted with this exit. The offense being the main culprit for the exit has to sting. The main focus of the offseason was to improve that side of the ball, so history doesn’t repeat itself. History indeed repeated itself, but it couldn’t have felt worse as it happened. Last year, it felt like the offensive line was holding back the quarterback’s potential. This year, the quarterback looked to have lost any hope for the future.
C.J. Stroud played one of the worst games of his career. It was terrible on many fronts. It came with some of the same mistakes from Monday’s win over the Steelers, with nearly none of the redeeming throws in critical moments. Nothing seemed to go right for Stroud. As the third-year quarterback tried to pull himself out of the hole he dug, he usually found himself digging deeper. When factoring in the situation, the early failures of the opponent, and how good the defense was this season, Stroud produced one of the most unfortunate failures in the franchise’s history.
