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C.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans warms up before a game against the Carolina Panthers.
This weekend could be historic for C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans, and the third-year quarterback is eager to see it through.
Stroud and the Texans are in the Divisional Round for the third straight season.
The No. 2 overall pick and 2023 Offensive Rookie of the Year is ready for more and believes that all the Texans endured this season will pay off when the time comes. That could be this weekend against the New England Patriots.
C.J. Stroud Gets Honest as Texans Face Historic Opportunity
GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans leaves the field after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wild Card Playoffs.
Stroud could get the Texans to the first AFC Championship game in franchise history. It is an opportunity he is not downplaying, agreeing with the idea that this is their best shot yet.
“I think it’s exciting,” Stroud told reporters on January 14. “I think it’s a great opportunity for us to go out there in our next game and put our best foot ahead of us, and try to get a dub in a harsh environment against a good–really good–football team. So, yeah. It’s just something on our mind that we need to get done, and that’s all our focus is right now.”
Stroud knows that the Texans have been in this position before and fallen short, though. The Texans lost to the Baltimore Ravens in Stroud’s rookie season. In 2024, it was the Kansas City Chiefs.
Stroud believes the Texans’ Wild Card road win over the Pittsburgh Steelers helps, too.
Still, that experience will not matter unless the Texans make it. That means a win in Foxborough, where the Patriots suffered all three of their losses during the regular season.
“Every game is separate on its own. I think, last two years, if you asked me the same question, I would have said we would have won. We don’t ever go into a game thinking otherwise. That’s just not who the Texans are. But yeah, every game we want to win. Every opportunity. If it was the Super Bowl, if it was the first game of the year, or preseason,” Stroud said.
“We’ve been in this position before. And I think we’ve learned from those things, and now it’s time to go put it on tape. Because we can talk about it til we’re blue in the face. But until you go do it is when it really matters.”
C.J. Stroud in Great Mental Space
GettyC.J. Stroud #7 of the Houston Texans walks off the field after defeating the Baltimore Ravens.
Stroud noted Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans’ message about staying the course, regardless of the setting, saying the third-year lead “always eggs us on like, ‘It doesn’t matter who, when, where, why, or how, we want to get a dub.’ So, I think that’s a great mindset to have.”
But his own journey has led him to strive for consistency physically as well as emotionally.
“I’ve learned a quote: ‘Don’t love the love. Don’t hate the hate.’ Things are going to be up and down throughout your life, your career. Whatever it is. I think that’s just how life works in general. But especially in the position I’m in, everything is criticized, and everything is talked about. So, I’ve learned to stay [focused on] what’s important to me. That’s my faith, my family, and then my teammates, and then myself, how I view myself,” Stroud said.
“Through failures and successes in this game, from the time I’ve been 16, with somewhat of a public eye. And when I went to Ohio State, same thing. They would love me one week, hate me the next. So, I’m well-equipped with what is going on, and I’m excited to play this next game and just kind of keep … [an] even keel.”
Stroud said the biggest thing that he has learned is “taking the plays as they come.”
“I would say, just taking the plays as they come. Flushing the bad and the good. Learning from both, and just moving forward,” Stroud said, noting his bounce-back after turning the ball over against the Steelers and how he “answered the bell” when needed.
“I think it’ll be that again this week. Hopefully, take care of the ball better this game. But I think, when it comes to adversity, things are going to happen.”
Stroud said he watched the other Wild Card games while the Texans waited.
He noticed that every team made mistakes during their respective contests, but that the winners were those who were able to “find a way to fight through and keep going,” and that it is “just playoff football.”
“We’re staying, our head down, working this week, preparing for that. But I think we’re doing a great job of it, and you got to just keep that going.”
C.J. Stroud Praises Patriots’ Defense
GettyChristian Gonzalez #0 of the New England Patriots looks on against the Cleveland Browns.
Stroud had nothing but praise for the Patriots and their eighth-overall-ranked defense, as he guides the Texans’ offense, the NFL’s 18th-ranked group overall, into New England. He also praised Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, whose defensive background has shown.
Like their offense, which went from 31st overall last season to third in 2025 with offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ return, the Patriots’ defense improved from 22nd in 2024.
Stroud said the Patriots all play “on one accord.”
“They do a really good job of playing together. Their D-line is really good. They have two really good tackles, really three. And then, their ends are really stout and good. Played against those guys a bunch in my career. So, they’re very talented. And then, you got [Carlton] Davis and Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez] on the outside, two really good DBs, who make a lot of plays, and their safeties kind of do the same thing,” Stroud said.
“A lot of respect for that team, and the way Vrabel’s got those guys together, rowdy. They’re playing together, seeing ball, getting ball. They’re doing everything the right way. So, it’s going to be a challenge for us, and got to just do the right things this week, preparing for them.”
