Troy Aikman Couldn’t Hide His Disappointment in C.J. Stroud’s ‘Terrible’ Decision on INT

The Texans' offense wasn’t at their best in their first playoff game against the Steelers last week, but the defense did enough to get the job done and advance to the divisional round against the Patriots.

Heading into Sunday, quarterback C.J. Stroud needed to step up and play a better game than he did in Pittsburgh, but in the first half, he struggled, throwing four picks including a few that came on just plain bad decisions.

Stroud’s most damning mistake came in the second quarter. Feeling pressure from the Patriots' pass rush, Stroud tried to lob a ball up and was hit on the throw. Cornerback Marcus Jones came down with the pick, and took it to the house for a touchdown.

MARCUS JONES HOUSE CALL ON THE INT 🏠

Patriots take the lead back 🔥

Texans-Patriots on ABC, ESPN and the ESPN App 🍿 pic.twitter.com/An1FT3c1fB
— ESPN (@espn) January 18, 2026

Watching the replay, Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman couldn’t hide how disappointed he was in Stroud’s decision making.

"C.J. Stroud, you just can't simply throw a ball up like that, hoping that somebody on your team comes down with the football,” Aikman said. “Just a terrible decision on his part."

Troy Aikman: "C.J. Stroud, you just can't simply throw a ball up like that, hoping that somebody on your team comes down with the football. Just a terrible decision on his part." 🏈🎙️ #NFL #NFLPlayoffs https://t.co/Iy1iqVZSQ9 pic.twitter.com/gZGkgQaJ7o
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 18, 2026

The Texans' defense is one of the strongest units in the entire NFL, and just passable quarterback play from Stroud might be enough to keep their team playing. Right now though, Stroud is struggling to get anything going, and will need a fresh start in the second half if he’s going to turn things around.

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