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DeMeco Ryans explains why he didn’t bench C.J. Stroud after QB’s nightmare first half vs. Patriots
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- DeMeco Ryans explains why he didn’t bench C.J. Stroud after QB’s nightmare first half vs. Patriots
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had a nightmare first half in Sunday’s AFC playoff loss to the New England Patriots , but Texans coach DeMeco Ryans never considered making a change under center at halftime.
Ryans explained his thinking following Sunday’s 28-16 loss at Gillette Stadium.
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“No, C.J. is our guy,” said Ryans, whose team trailed 21-10 at the half . I believed that he could come back out in the second half and flip it. I believed that he could play better, and he did that in the second half. He did play better. We had some positive drives there in the second half.
“I believed that he would do that, and he did that. As I always tell our guys at halftime, it really doesn’t matter what happened in the first half. You have to flush it, remove it, and you just have to go out and finish the right way. We’ve been there before. We’ve been in situations much more dire than this, and we were able to bounce back. In my mind, there was no doubt in my mind that we would be able to overcome that.”
Stroud, who had one of his four interceptions returned for a touchdown by Marcus Jones , completed 20 of 47 pass attempts in the game. He threw for 212 yards and one touchdown.
Carlton Davis III had two of the Patriots’ interceptions while Craig Woodson had one along with a fumble recovery.
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Ryans was later asked what he said to Stroud.
“Keep your head up. I love you. I got your back,” Ryan said. “That’s what I told him at halftime. This whole team has your back. We’re in this thing together from day one. It doesn’t change for me.
“We have a really special group, a tight-knit group, and when things don’t go your way, you have bad performances, it’s not a time to point fingers or say it’s on one person. If anything, it all starts with me. For me, as the head coach of this team, we didn’t perform well. Obviously I didn’t have our guys ready to go in this moment. So that starts with me. We stick together.”
The Texans finished their season 13-6. They’ve lost in the divisional round in three straight seasons under Ryans.
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