J.J. Watt Used One Word to Describe C.J. Stroud, Texans’ Playoff Loss to Patriots

Former Texans star J.J. Watt weighed in on seeing his former team lose to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

The Texans couldn’t get the job done in Sunday’s divisional round loss to the Patriots and will continue their organization’s woeful postseason streak of defeats—much to one franchise legend’s dismay.

Former Texans defensive star and current CBS analyst J.J. Watt didn’t have much to say about his old team’s latest loss, other than the fact that it was “tough.”

“Tough,” Watt wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Just put ourselves in a hole too many times to climb out of.”

He did, however, give credit where it was due, and praised Patriots coach Mike Vrabel for turning the franchise around.

“What an incredible turnaround Vrabel and the Patriots have accomplished this year. Thoroughly impressive.”

Tough.
Just put ourselves in a hole too many times to climb out of.

What an incredible turnaround Vrabel and the Patriots have accomplished this year. Thoroughly impressive.

— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) January 18, 2026

The Texans arguably played themselves out of this game after quarterback C.J. Stroud threw four interceptions, all of which came in the first half. Stroud, whose future in Houston may be less certain following his less-than-stellar playoff outing, took the blame for the loss in his postgame press conference.

“When I look back on it, I feel like I let people down, and I’m not happy with that. It hurts. I’m not used to it. I didn’t play my best this year, but I’m going to respond, I’m going to keep my chest out and my chin up high,” Stroud told reporters.

Stroud capped off his third season in Houston with another middling campaign that didn’t live up to his rookie year: he finished with 3,041 passing yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions while leading the Texans to a 9-5 record in the regular season.

His brutal errors against the Patriots ended up proving fatal for a defensively-stacked Texans that nonetheless couldn’t get their offense going in a must-win game. Having gotten knocked out of the divisional round for the third straight time under coach DeMeco Ryans, the Texans and Watt alike may be both wondering if it’s time for some drastic changes in 2026.

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