Why the Texans need to seriously consider if CJ Stroud is the quarterback of the future in Houston

The Houston Texans have had to deal with the reality of another early exit to the playoffs for a third straight year and right now there are a lot of questions surrounding the future of their young QB and the path they want their offense to take.

Stroud humbled in New England

Anytime you throw four first half interceptions in a playoff game and your team ends up losing, you are going to come under some heavy scrutiny. Especially if you turned the ball over three times and had to get bailed out by your defense in the previous. That’s the situation CJ Stroud finds himself in right now after the Texans loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday afternoon.

It was a playoff run to forget for CJ Stroud. Even in the win against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he fumbled the ball five times, losing two of those fumbles and throwing a pick. The defense saved him, holding the Steelers to 175 total yards and scoring a couple TDs on a fumble return and a pick six as the Texans advanced to the Divisional Round for a third straight year.

The Texans were the best defense in the league this season, but even before they were the top unit in the NFL, their defense carrying them in playoff games has been a trend over the last few years. This year their offense scored two TDs in the win over Pittsburgh and their defense match that scoring another two TDs. For the last three years it’s been the defense picking up the slack for the offense in their playoff wins.

Defense picking up slack for Stroud

In the three playoffs games the Texans have won over the last three years, CJ Stroud has thrown for five touchdowns and turned it over four times. The defense, in those games, has scored the same amount of touchdowns as Stroud has throw for. The defense scoring touchdowns is a great thing, but it shouldn’t be what you rely on to win games but that seems to be the only thing the Texans can count on when the playoffs come around.

This year it seems like Stroud has regressed more than ever. His game against the Patriots was tough to watch. DeMeco Ryans stuck with the QB even after the four interceptions in the first half, but Stroud looked rattled. Even ESPN announcer Troy Aikman commented on Stroud and the problem Houston may have on their hands in the imminent future. “C.J. Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years. He’s not been the same player. We’ve not seen the development from him. There’s a reason for that, and it has to be addressed.”

CJ Stroud has been in the playoffs in each of his three seasons and had a rookie year that made you think he was going to be one of the heavyweight QBs in the same category with Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. That has been far from the case and all of the sudden there are murmurs in Houston that the Texans might be moving on from their one time franchise quarterback.

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