Ex-Rancho Cucamonga star Stroud joins exclusive company with NFL playoff win vs. Chargers

Since entering the NFL, former Rancho Cucamonga High School star C.J. Stroud has quickly catapulted into being a top quarterback in the league, turning a Houston Texans franchise that had been experiencing some major downs years into a winning football team. And on Sunday, after helping the Texans clinch their second straight trip to the AFC Divisional round, Stroud joined a very elite and exclusive list that only five other quarterbacks in league history are on.
Winning his second career playoff game in only his second season, Stroud now joins Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Russell Wilson and Brock Purdy as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win a playoff start in each of their first two seasons. As a rookie in 2023, Stroud guided the Texans to a Wild Card win over the Cleveland Browns before a road loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round ended their season. After beating the Chargers in the Wild Card this year, Stroud and the Texans will now travel to Kansas City and attempt to knock off the Chiefs in order to make the AFC Championship game.
It all started with the Texans facing a 6-0 deficit in the first quarter. But things quickly turned around for Stroud and Houston, who managed to score 10 unanswered points in the second half to go up 10-6 at the break. From then on, momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Texans, who put up 22 unanswered points in the second half to eventually take home the 32-12 victory. Stroud, who completed 66% of his passes (22-for-33) threw for 282 yards and a touchdown, finding wide receiver Nico Collins wide open late in the first half to get Houston on the board for the first time all game. The play proved to be the catalyst for what was to come as that was the start of the Texans takeover that would ensue in the second half.
Despite experiencing more of a down year than what he experienced as a rookie, with his passing yards and passing touchdown totals being down slightly and his interception total rising, Stroud still showed that he is exactly what the Texans need, guiding a team that had somewhat of an inconsistent regular season to their second straight AFC South title. This marks the first time since 2018 and 2019 that the team has won two straight division titles.
Stroud, who was taken by the Texans with the second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, spent his college career as a star for Ohio State, where in 2021 and 2022, he won consecutive Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and Big Ten Quarterback of the Year. In 2021, Stroud guided the Buckeyes to an 11-2 overall finish, with a Rose Bowl win over Utah and in 2022, the Buckeyes finished 11-1 in the regular season and earned a CFP berth, but fell in the Peach Bowl semifinal by one point to Georgia.
Throughout his career, Stroud has excelled everywhere and with the way he has the Texans playing, it would not be a shock if they are considered a dark horse team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy come February.