There’s no other way to put it. C.J. Stroud had a disastrous outing against the New England Patriots on Divisional Round weekend. In one of the biggest games of his life, the Houston Texans QB threw four interceptions and looked rattled from the jump. It was tough to watch if you weren’t a Pats fan, and now, there is uncertainty around Stroud’s future in Houston.
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Former QB-turned analyst Robert Griffin III didn’t hold back in his criticism of Stroud. He called the performance unacceptable and flat-out bad. At this point, Griffin believes Stroud needs to get back to the basics as he enters the final year of his rookie contract.
RGIII also appeared genuinely puzzled by what he saw on Sunday. He couldn’t understand some of the decisions Stroud was making, which is why he believes the Texans QB may not have fully recovered from the concussion he suffered earlier this season.
“I don’t think CJ ever recovered from his concussion in Week 9 against Denver,” RGIII stated on Outta Pocket. “I’m a guy that’s had a few concussions in his career. Concussions are something that can have lingering issues. He missed three games; that’s how bad his concussion was. Most guys miss a game and come back.”
It was an interesting point for the former QB to raise. Most fans would likely view RGIII’s suggestion as an excuse. However, it could explain why Stroud continued to make poor decisions against the Pats. After all, he didn’t look like himself at all.
CJ Stroud played terrible and hasn’t looked like himself in a long time.
There’s no excuse for having 5 ints and 5 fumbles in 2 playoff games and he knows that.
After watching the tape again on a human level, I believe CJ Stroud never fully recovered from his Week 9 concussion. pic.twitter.com/yCtmrV2Tcr
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 20, 2026
Later on, RGIII made the profound suggestion that Stroud go and see a brain specialist this offseason.
“It was his reaction time to me that just looked a little bit off. So, what I would suggest for CJ Stroud is that he needs to go get his brain looked at. And I don’t mean that jokingly at all,” said the former Commander.
Griffin needed to clarify, as most would have taken the statement as a roast of Stroud. But the former QB was being dead serious. He doesn’t believe what the Texans quarterback put on tape over the back half of the season is indicative of the player he truly is.
At the end of the day, though, this is a bit of a reach by RGIII. There have been no reports that Stroud was dealing with lingering concussion issues on Sunday. He also played well during the regular season after returning from the injury.
The Divisional Round game was just a bad performance by Stroud. He made one mistake, then another, and suddenly everything snowballed. Anyone who has played sports long enough has experienced games like that. For many athletes, it tends to happen in the playoffs, when the pressure is at its highest, especially against a dominant defense like the Patriots’.
It’ll be interesting to see how Stroud rebounds from this performance. There will surely be a lot of questions about his future with the team heading into and during 2026. So, the pressure isn’t going away anytime soon.
