C.J. Stroud had a half he’d like to forget in the first 30 minutes of the Houston Texans’ 28-16 divisional round loss against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
The third-year quarterback threw a whopping four interceptions in the first half of Sunday’s game, completing 10 of 26 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown. The interceptions helped put the Texans in a 21-10 hole at the break, with three of his four interceptions occurring after he threw a touchdown pass to give Houston a 10-7 lead in the second quarter.
Stroud’s four interceptions in the first half alone are tied with eight other quarterbacks for the most thrown in a playoff game since former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme threw five in a playoff game in 2008. Three of Delhomme’s interceptions in that game came in the second half, as the Panthers fell to the Arizona Cardinals, 33-13, in the divisional round.
According to FOX Sports Research, this is the second time since 1991 that a quarterback has thrown four interceptions in one playoff half. The last time was Trevor Lawrence back in January 2023. The Chargers were up 27-0 late in the first half of that game but infamously lost 31-30.
Stroud was also the only quarterback with four-plus interceptions and 15-plus incompletions in a first half (regular season or playoffs) in the past 35 seasons, per FOX Sports Research. Stroud’s turnover-prone performance on Sunday came a week after he threw an interception and had five fumbles (two lost) in the Texans’ wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Stroud is the first quarterback to have five fumbles and five interceptions in a postseason since at least 1991.
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans opted not to bench Stroud for the second half, telling reporters that the team didn’t consider putting Davis Mills in at quarterback.
“C.J.’s our guy,” Ryans said. “I believed that he could come back out in the second half and flip it. I believed he could play better and he did that in the second half. He did play better. We had some positive drives there in the second half. I believe he would be that and he did that. As I always tell our guys at halftime, it really doesn’t matter what happened in the first half. You have to flush it, remove it and go out and finish the right way.”
Stroud didn’t throw an interception in the second half, finishing the day 20 of 47 for 212 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions with a 28 passer rating. But the Texans still committed a key turnover in the final 30 minutes. With 5:21 left in the third quarter, running back Woody Marks fumbled for the Texans’ fifth turnover and the eighth total turnover of the game. The fumble came as the Texans were able to drive to the Patriots’ 17-yard line while trailing, 21-13.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye didn’t have a pretty day, either. He lost two of his four fumbles and threw an interception, which came on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. Texans edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. was responsible for two of those forced fumbles as he finished the day with three sacks. Anderson joined Los Angeles Chargers edge rusher Odafe Oweh as the only two players to log at least three sacks and two forced fumbles in a playoff game since 2000, per FOX Sports Research. Oweh did that in the Chargers’ loss to the Patriots last week.
Brett Favre still holds the record for the most interceptions thrown by a quarterback in an NFL playoff game. He threw six interceptions in the Green Bay Packers’ 45-17 loss to the St. Louis Rams in the divisional round of the 2001 season. Favre threw three interceptions in each half, and three of his six interceptions were returned for touchdowns.
Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis had two of those interceptions, getting the first on a pass Stroud sailed over the head of wide receiver Christian Kirk. But the most noteworthy of the four interceptions was the second pick Stroud threw. On the play after the Texans’ defense forced a punt, Stroud threw an errant pass as he was getting hit by Patriots edge rusher K’Lavon Chaisson. That allowed Patriots cornerback Marcus Jones to easily catch a floating ball, and he took it the other way for a 26-yard pick-six to give New England a 14-10 lead.
Stroud’s third interception was on a pass to receiver Xavier Hutchinson, in which the Texans’ wide receiver let the ball bounce off his hands before landing in the hands of Patriot safety Craig Woodson.
The fourth interception Stroud threw might have been the worst. As the Texans were able to get to the Patriots’ 48-yard line at the two-minute warning, Stroud threw a pass in the flats intended for Hutchinson that wound up in the arms of Davis instead.
Stroud was able to lead the Texans to a field goal drive in the first possession of the second half that cut the Patriots’ lead to 21-13, but it didn’t come without a pair of close calls. On one reception by Hutchinson, it was initially ruled that he fumbled the ball and the Patriots recovered. However, an expedited replay ruled that Hutchinson was down.
Later in the drive, Stroud nearly threw his fifth pick of the day when he rolled out on a third-and-2 and threw in Kirk’s direction. Jones got his hands on the ball, with it bouncing off his fingertips before falling incomplete.
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