The Houston Texans demolished the Pittsburgh Steelers by 30-6 in the AFC Wild Card Round. No one thought it would be such a one-sided game, yet Texans Nation is not happy with C.J. Stroud’s performance, especially after he showcased his struggles with accuracy in such a crucial game.

“win, lose, or draw, C.J. Stroud needs investigated ASAP,” wrote former Steeler star Le’Veon Bell on X, when the game was still ongoing.

Stroud’s box score read 250 passing yards and a touchdown, with a 65.6% pass completion rate. So, why does the question of investigation arise? It’s because the quarterback fumbled an almost unbelievable five times against the Steelers.

The first one happened at the very beginning of the second quarter. It was the first play for the Texans, who were on 2nd-and-2. When the ball was snapped from the Texans’ 16-yard line, Stroud could not hold on to the ball and fumbled. Fortunately, he recovered the ball and threw for an incomplete pass, preventing the opposition from scoring a touchdown. The score was 3-0 in favor of the Steelers then. If the touchdown had been scored by the rival team, the outcome could have been different.

The same thing repeated in the third and the fourth quarters. Following his performance, fans could not just stay calm.

“I was thinking the same thing,” one commented on Le’Veon Bell post on X. “You don’t think he could just be that bad huh?”

Despite being young, it was unnatural for the quarterback to make so many mistakes. Moreover, he is versed in postseason, with this season marking his third playoff appearance. The QB has scored 19 touchdowns and covered 3,041 passing yards, with a 64.5% completion rate. Thus, it is surprising. While fans and former players voiced their concerns, no one was more critical of the performance than Stroud himself.

C.J. Stroud addresses the problem of catching the ball

Following the game, C.J. Stroud didn’t hide his disappointment with his own performance, directly addressing the miscues.

“We had some problems with the snap, me catching them,” said C.J. Stroud after Monday night’s win. “Got to find a way to catch ‘em and take care of the ball.”

Although he was disappointed with himself, he was happy that his teammates covered for him.

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“I thought every time we had to bounce back, we made more plays, so I’m proud of our guys for having a little bit of resilience in those moments. To finish the game like that was really dope.”

His mistakes could have been costly for Houston, but thankfully, it did not come to that. Moreover, fortunately, the defense was on point, holding the Steelers to just two field goals. The Texans led the total defense in the regular season, and now they are repeating it in the postseason too (277.2 YPG).

However, head coach DeMeco Ryans stood by his quarterback.

“We had some bad plays that happened for C.J. [Stroud], and he didn’t waver,” Ryans said, according to ESPN. “That’s who he is. He’s a resilient young man who’s able to bounce back. Anybody can go into the tank and drop the ball a few times. You keep battling. … That’s what he did, and he made some big throws for us, some huge passes that allowed us to get in striking distance and score.”

Stroud has become the second player in NFL history to record five fumbles and win a game, after QB Eli Manning in 2007. However, the Texans’ QB is the first to do it in a playoff game.

Next, the Texans will face the New England Patriots. So, mistakes cannot be repeated against them. Houston has never reached the Conference Championship Game. With Stroud’s mistakes and the franchise’s records, the Patriots appear as the favorites. Regardless, nothing can be said for sure. It remains to be seen whether the Texans can get past the hurdle or if history repeats itself.