Texans Would’ve Won Against Patriots with Almost Any Other QB Than CJ Stroud, Says Dan Orlovsky

CJ Stroud's 10 total turnovers could end up affecting negotiations with the Houston Texans for his rookie extension.

Texans Would’ve Won Against Patriots with Almost Any Other QB Than CJ Stroud, Says Dan Orlovsky

Dan Orlovsky and CJ Stroud (Image via Dov Kleiman/X/Imago)

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The Houston Texans’ stellar run came to an end after the New England Patriots forced CJ Stroud to give up four interceptions in their Divisional Round battle.

Those four turnovers were enough to stop the away team from scoring the points necessary to win. Had he managed to avoid giving the ball away to the Patriots, maybe the Texans would have surged into the AFC Championship game knowing their defense was the best in the business.

Moreover, with Bo Nix‘s ankle fracture, this could have been the easiest path for them to reach the Super Bowl. That is not going to happen, and now questions are being raised about CJ Stroud’s ability to lead the team.

His head coach, DeMeco Ryans, threw his support behind his quarterback, citing the Ohio State alum’s second half as proof that he can leave the past behind. That, however, is not enough, as per some analysts.

If you’re Houston, you win that game with 31 other quarterbacks… Bad QB play wins that play… 5 picks, 5 fumbles in two games in the playoffs?

Dan Orlovsky said on Get Up

The analyst felt that any bad quarterback who would not give away that many turnovers would have helped the Houston Texans win this Divisional round game.

More importantly, Dan Orlovsky believes the franchise has to look at CJ Stroud and wonder if his 10 total turnovers in two playoff games are what they believe is good enough for their future.

Longtime analyst cites Tua Tagovailoa mistake while assessing CJ Stroud

With the claws out for CJ Stroud after his horrific playoff performances in two games, longtime analyst Dan Patrick decided to give the Houston Texans a warning.

CJ Stroud…I think he cost himself millions and millions of dollars these last two games. Because there is no way I’m going to extend him. I don’t want to make the mistake the Dolphins did with Tua… Body language was terrible.

Dan Patrick said on his show

The 69-year-old believes this is a similar situation to what the Miami Dolphins have faced with Tua Tagovailoa. Patrick believes they handed the Hawaiian QB a massive contract based on what they saw him do in the regular season.

Tagovailoa’s average performance in the playoffs was just a precursor to how he struggles when under pressure. Now that CJ Stroud has proved that he, too, struggles to play well when the going gets tough, Dan Patrick urged the Texans to exercise caution.

Even if the second-overall pick has a better 2026 season, the analyst believes the top brass should factor in the struggles from these two games when handing Stroud his next extension.

CJ Stroud had his worst performance at the worst time

When CJ Stroud enters the 2026 season, he will be starting the final year of his four-year rookie contract. Usually, teams want to lock down top young players before the season starts, but in the 24-year-old’s case, this might have been the worst situation for him.

CJ Stroud is eligible for a rookie extension
CJ Stroud is eligible for a rookie extension (Image via Underdog NFL/X)

The likes of Micah Parsons landed a league-leading contract before playing the final year of his rookie deal. But in the Texans QB’s instance, the timing could not have been worse.

If the team wants to take advantage of these horrible performances, they could tie him down to a relatively modest deal, akin to what Baker Mayfield signed.

However, the California native might also want to prove his worth and sign a deal that could grant him generational wealth. Either way, he will not likely get a contract akin to what Tua Tagovailoa signed. That is why Dan Patrick mentioned that those two performances may have cost Stroud millions.

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