Micah Parsons Highlights C.J. Stroud’s Turnovers as Patriots Defense Shuts Down Texans QB

On Sunday, C.J. Stroud recorded not one, not two, and not even three, but four interceptions throughout his divisional round matchup against the New England Patriots. All four interceptions came before halftime, putting Houston in a 21–10 deficit that they never recovered from.

Despite a Texans defense that forced five takeaways of its own and repeatedly gave the offense chances to respond, Stroud continued to give the ball back, allowing the Patriots to seize control and cruise to a decisive postseason win. The Texans quarterback finished 20-of-47 for 212 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions — including a crushing pick-six in the second quarter — as the Patriots defense overwhelmed him from start to finish.

By the time the second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft had thrown his final INT of the day to New England’s Carlton Davis III, many, including Stroud’s friend and star pass rusher, Micah Parsons, were beginning to worry more about the historical context of his performance than anything else.

Unfortunately, Stroud couldn’t even manage to win at losing. His four turnovers on the day weren’t enough to put him in contention for the most turnovers in a playoff game in NFL history. No, that honor still belongs to the former Arizona Cardinal, Carson Palmer.

During the 2016 NFC Championship game, a nearly-40-year-old Palmer ran into the 16-1 Carolina Panthers, whose defense was responsible for more interceptions(24) than any other team in the league that year. Throw in the fact that the Panthers also recorded 44 sacks that season, the sixth most in the league, and hindsight seems to suggest that the outing was always going to go poorly for Palmer.

Much like Stroud, everything first began to unravel during the second quarter. Carolina’s Kawann Short was able to force a fumble while sacking Palmer on the Cardinals’ fourth drive of the game. Arizona was able to respond with a one-yard touchdown run from David Johnson, but after Cam Newton was able to nullify that with a one-yard touchdown rush of his own, Palmer would go on to throw back-to-back interceptions on the Cardinals’ final two possessions of the half.

Once play resumed, Palmer was able to keep the ball safe for the entirety of the third quarter, leading many to think that Arizona’s halftime adjustments had been enough to save him. The only issue is that the Panthers’ lead had ballooned to 19 points, and he was eventually forced to continue taking chances.

Thanks to the efforts of Kurt Coleman, Luke Kuechly, and Tre Boston, Palmer would throw three consecutive interceptions in the fourth quarter, setting the all-time NFL record for most turnovers in a single playoff game at six.