The Houston Texans ended their latest season in disappointment, with a 28-16 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.
A glaring aspect of the Texans’ offense in the first half was quarterback CJ Stroud, who threw a costly four interceptions. New England capitalized on the mistakes, including a pick-six, to take a 21-10 lead into halftime.
While fans and other individuals may have been calling for head coach DeMeco Ryans to bench Stroud after his disappointing first half, the Texans hung around in the second half, making it a game for a while.
Unfortunately, the Patriots’ defense was not to be denied, preventing Houston from pulling off a surprising comeback. Ultimately, blame may have fallen on Stroud’s poor performance, but his head coach wasn’t willing to criticize him after the game.
Read more: Sean McDermott Blasts Unreviewed Call in Bills’ Playoff Loss to Broncos
While Ryans admitted “it’s tough to think you’re gonna win a game when you turn the ball over five times,” he still defended keeping Stroud as the Texans’ quarterback on the field for the second half.
“CJ’s our guy. I believed that he could come back out in the second half and flip it. I believed that he can play better, and he did that. He did play better. We had some positive drives in the second half. I believed he would do that, and he did that,” Ryans said.
“As I always tell our guys at halftime, ‘It doesn’t matter what happened in the first half.’ You have to flush it, remove it, and you just have to go out and finish the right way,” he said, adding, “We’ve been there before.”
Stroud finished the game with 212 yards, a touchdown pass, and four interceptions on his 20-of-47 completions. On the opposing side, Drake Maye also had his share of mistakes, including several fumbles, including a few he lost to the Texans’ defense.
However, he seemingly made fewer mistakes and bigger players. Along with that, the Patriots’ defense shone through in the massive victory for New England.
As of this writing, Ryans seems pleased with his quarterback, Stroud, despite fans wanting to see backup Davis Mills take over. It should be interesting to see if the Texans make any significant decisions to change directions with their offense in the offseason.
Read more: Peyton Manning, Shannon Sharpe Draw Attention for Reaction to Broncos’ Win
For more about the Houston Texans and the NFL, visit Newsweek Sports.
