Troy Aikman Makes Blunt Statement on C.J. Stroud’s Future After Ugly Loss to Patriots

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had a performance to forget during his team’s loss to the Patriots in the divisional round of the playoffs. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @awfulannouncing

The Texans saw their season end against the Patriots in Sunday’s divisional round, with Houston taking home a bitter wintry loss in which quarterback C.J. Stroud failed to deliver with his team’s playoff hopes on the line.

Stroud finished with 212 passing yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in the 28-16 defeat, all four of which came in the first half and dealt devastating blows to Houston’s morale early on in the game. Some pundits were calling for his benching by halftime, but Stroud stayed out there in the third and fourth quarter and wasn’t able to do much of anything on offense as the Texans only managed to score a pair of field goals.

The Texans are now 0-7 all-time in the divisional round, and their latest playoff loss might have the franchise mulling over whether Stroud truly is their quarterback for the long haul.

ESPN’s Troy Aikman didn’t mince words about Stroud’s murky future following his error-filled outing:

“I will say this, Joe. DeMeco Ryans and [GM] Nick Caserio, they’ve got some tough decisions they gotta make about this team on the offensive side of the ball,” Aikman said on the broadcast. “They replaced Bobby Slowik last year, after his two years as the offensive coordinator. 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.”

Troy Aikman: "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." 🏈🎙️ #NFL #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/nmAgXfxItQ

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2026

Aikman and boothmate Joe Buck went on to discuss how despite Stroud’s impressive rookie season in 2023, his last two years in the league haven’t looked great.

“If his hands hurt, that’s one thing. But he missed some open throws tonight, turned the ball over a lot again, which is what he did in Pittsburgh. This was not a good performance,” said Buck.

Stroud recorded a whopping seven turnovers in the last two playoff games, putting together two of his most regrettable performances when the results mattered most. He also made some undesirable history by becoming the first player with five-plus interceptions and five-plus fumbles in a single postseason.

It’s worth noting that Stroud didn’t have his trusty targets, Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz, in Sunday’s loss, but his uninspiring stat sheet perhaps says it all. We’ll see what direction the Texans’ brass decides to go this offseason after yet another ugly blemish on the organization’s postseason record.

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