CJ Stroud walked off the field Sunday night knowing something felt off. The scoreboard read 28–16, and the Houston Texans were left stunned. For Stroud, it was not just a playoff loss. Instead, it was one of the roughest outings of his career. Four interceptions told the story early, and by the time the dust settled, the season was already slipping away. Still, the silence afterward said even more.

After that, the tone shifted when Stroud spoke. With the season over, he made it clear in this chapter that Texans Nation is not finished. Talking postgame, Stroud explained they are done with the season, and now he and the Texans are moving on from it.

“I just want them to know that I love them, and I told them that. And I will always be there for them; I know they’re there for me. So this isn’t the end; this is just something in my story, in our story, as Texans, that, God willing, it’ll get better soon,” he said postgame.

Meanwhile, the damage had already been done before halftime. All four interceptions came early, putting Houston in a deep hole. Although the second half looked cleaner on paper, it did not change the result. The Texans managed only six points after the break and, more importantly, none in the fourth quarter. As a result, any late push never really arrived.

Following that, Stroud did not dodge responsibility. Speaking to reporters after the game, he was his own toughest judge. He spoke honestly about Sunday night and zoomed out to the full season. There was no finger-pointing. Instead, he owned the lows and admitted the standard was higher.

“When I look back on it, I feel like I let people down, and I’m not happy with that. It hurts. I’m not used to it. I didn’t play my best this year, but I’m going to respond; I’m going to keep my chest out and my chin up high,” Stroud said.

Statistically, the night was brutal. Stroud finished 20 of 47 for 212 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions. Along the way, he landed in an unwanted record book. He became the first player since Kerry Collins in 1998 to throw four picks while completing under 43 percent of his passes.

On top of that, he is now the first player ever with five interceptions and five fumbles in a single postseason since 1991. And now head coach DeMeco Ryans has also opened up on the offense.

DeMeco Ryans blames the offense for the loss

Even as the night unraveled, DeMeco Ryans never wavered. Despite the four first-half interceptions, the Texans’ head coach never thought about pulling CJ Stroud for Davis Mills. Instead, he doubled down on belief.

“CJ is our guy, I believe that he could come back out in the second half and flip it,” Ryans said postgame. “I believe that 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 do that and he did that.”

However, that faith did not stop Ryans from calling out what went wrong. Shortly after, he pointed directly at the offense as the reason the Texans fell short in Foxborough.

“And when you’re in a game of… this magnitude, we’ve done a great job all year of protecting the football, running the ball well, that’s been our formula and to come here when we needed it most, we didn’t protect the ball,” he said.

“It’s tough to think that you’re gonna win a game when you turn a ball over five times. We still had opportunities…So, I love this team even though you should have been able to come back from five takeaways.”

Meanwhile, the ground game offered no relief. In slick conditions, a steadier offense would have leaned on the run. Instead, the Texans went nowhere. They scraped together just 48 yards on 22 carries, and that tells the story. Lead back Woody Marks kept running without any gain or loss on eight of his 14 attempts. As a result, the offense never found balance or rhythm.

Because of that, Houston drifted into a risky imbalance. With the run game stuck in neutral, everything landed on Stroud’s shoulders. He ended up throwing 47 passes, even while clearly out of sync. That is not a winning formula, especially in January football. Going forward, this phase has to change. So, Ryans wrapped it with perspective.

“We’re still fighting, we’re still scratching the claw and be in that position,” he said.

Now, as the Patriots prepare to host the Broncos on January 25, Houston shifts into offseason mode. Yet one thing stays firm: the belief in CJ Stroud is untouched, and Ryans made sure everyone heard that loud and clear.