Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is entering his second postseason. But has the sophomore quarterback ever won a playoff game? Let’s examine how he fared in his first trip to the playoffs.
Stroud Looking Forward to Second NFL Postseason
The Texans will open the 2025 NFL Playoffs with a home game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday afternoon. This is Stroud’s second foray into the postseason, and he hopes to take the Texans further than last season.
Stroud helped Houston win its Wild Card Round playoff game last season, its first since 2019, when the Texans blew out the Cleveland Browns 45-14.
He threw for 274 yards, three touchdowns (tying the rookie playoff record), and zero interceptions with a 76.2% completion percentage.
In his postseason debut, Stroud posted the third-highest playoff passer rating of all time (157.2) and became the youngest quarterback in NFL history to win a postseason game.
Houston would go on the road and lose to the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round 34-10, ending the Texans’ season.
Now, he is coming into this postseason as a man on a mission and he’s determined to lead the Texans further than last year.
This is a new postseason, and his teammates are rallying around him. Starting offensive lineman Tytus Howard said he knew early on that Stroud would be a special player.
“He has that aura about him that when he speaks, everybody listens,” he said.
Stroud Had an Impressive Rookie Campaign
As a rookie, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and just five interceptions (with a 63.9% completion percentage) while also rushing for 167 yards and three touchdowns. He was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year while also earning a Pro Bowl nod and a spot on the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Stroud even finished ninth in NFL MVP voting.
Stroud’s passing yards were the third-most by a rookie behind only Andrew Luck and Justin Herbert, and his 23 passing touchdowns were tied for the sixth-most all-time among rookies. He also led the NFL in both passing yards per game and interception rate, which is something only Tom Brady and Joe Montana have done.
Stroud’s passer rating (100.8) was the third-highest of any rookie in league history (behind only Dak Prescott and Robert Griffin III).
In his best game of the season, Stroud threw for 470 yards, five touchdowns (including the game-winner), and zero interceptions in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 470 passing yards were the most of any QB during the 2023 season and broke the rookie single-game record.
Stroud became just the sixth player in NFL history with at least 450 passing yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions in a single game.
Even more remarkable is Stroud did all of this without a run game (the Texans’ 3.7 yards per carry ranked 29th in the NFL) and behind an offensive line that struggled all year. But perhaps most impressive was how quickly he helped turn around one of the league’s most hapless franchises.
The Texans had gone a league-worst 11-38-1 in the three seasons prior to Stroud’s arrival. They nearly equaled that win total in one year with a 10-7 record and an AFC South title.
Stroud and DeMeco Ryans became the first rookie QB and rookie head coach to win a division since the NFL/AFL merger in 1970.
How Has Stroud Fared This Year?
After the Texans made big offseason acquisitions like Joe Mixon and Stefon Diggs, expectations were high for Stroud and this Texans offense entering the season.
Unfortunately, Stroud has regressed quite a bit. Despite having better weapons, his stats dipped to 3,727 passing yards, 20 total TDs, and 12 INTs. Injuries to Diggs, Tank Dell, and Nico Collins made things harder for Stroud, but that isn’t the only thing to blame for his struggles.
This season, Stroud was the No. 27-ranked quarterback in the league and posted a 68.2 (D+) grade in PFN’s QB+ metric. For comparison, Stroud had an 82.4 (B-) grade and ranked as the eighth-best quarterback in the league as a rookie.
PFN’s QB+ metric assigns a letter grade to every QB performance and factors in many different stats such as success rate when pressured, third-down conversion rate, pocket production, and clutch performance.
After so much fanfare in his rookie season, Stroud ranked 29th in EPA/DB (-0.03), 25th in third-down conversion rate (35.1%), and 28th in nYPA (6.2) as a sophomore. His play needs to improve significantly if the Texans are to avoid going one-and-done in the playoffs.