FOXBORO — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said he wishes he had done things differently on a play that shifted the momentum entirely in Sunday’s AFC divisional loss to the Patriots.
Houston briefly gained control in the second quarter after Stroud connected with receiver Christian Kirk for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Texans ahead 10-7. Minutes later, after forcing the Patriots to punt, Stroud looked to continue finding holes in the Patriots defense.
That momentum, though, reversed completely, as the third-year quarterback faced heavy pressure from Patriots linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson. Instead of throwing it away or taking a sack, Stroud lobbed the ball into the hands of cornerback Marcus Jones.
Jones returned the errant pass 26 yards for a pick-six putting the Patriots ahead for good, 14-10, with 10:41 left in the first half.
“You know, the pick six, (Jones) made a heck of a play,” Stroud told reporters after Houston fell 28-16. “I tried to make a play and had a guy open, but (Chaisson) hit my arm and made a great play. I just in that moment, probably just take a sack and go on to the next play.”
“But it’s something I can learn from,” the quarterback added, “and it just sucks that it has to be in this game, in this environment, on this stage. But like I said, I’m not going to hold my head down. I just feel bad. I really feel like I let my teammates down. But I’m going to move forward.”
Stroud tossed four interceptions to three different Patriots: one to Jones, two to cornerback Carlton Davis and another to safety Craig Woodson. The New England defense sacked Stroud three times, hit him nine times, forced 27 incompletions, allowed 2.2 yards per carry and generated 27 pressures (per PFF) on 52 dropbacks.
“I take full responsibility,” Stroud said of the turnovers. “It’s something I’m going to learn from.”
