C.J. Stroud reacts to turnover-plagued performance vs. Patriots

Michael Kaskey-Blomain

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C.J. Stroud reacts to turnover-plagued performance vs. Patriots image

C.J. Stroud shouldered the blame for the Houston Texans’28-16 loss to the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs on Sunday.

Stroud tossed four interceptions against New England, compared to just one touchdown. All four of Stroud’s picks came in the first half of the contest. That many turnovers is tough for any team to overcome, especially in the playoffs. 

"I look back and I just feel like I let people down. [I’m] not happy with that," Stroud said after the game. "It hurts, and I’m not used to it. I know I didn’t play my best this year, but I’m going to respond. I’m going to keep my chest up, my chin up high and I’m going to just keep battling forward." 

Stroud acknowledged his turnovers as a main culprit in the loss for Houston, but he expressed confidence in his ability to improve in that area moving forward.

“Even today, our team doing great, our defense getting stops, and I was just being careless with the football," Stroud said. "I got to get that fixed, and it’s something that I know I can. So I’m going to get that done.”

Despite Stroud's first-half struggles, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game that he never considered making a switch at the position. 

"C.J. Is our guy," Ryans said. "I believed that he could come back out in the second half and flip it. I believed that he could play better. And he did that in the second half, he did play better. We had some positive drives in the second half. I believed that he would do that and he did that." 

Stroud did play better in the second half than he did in the first half, but the bar was incredibly low, and ultimately he didn't do enough to help Houston advance to the first AFC Championship in franchise history. As a result, the Texans' championship drought will extend another year, at least. 

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Staff Writer