Last Sunday, the New England Patriots took down the Houston Texans on the back of a dominant defensive performance. However, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky framed Houston’s loss less as a defensive clinic and more as a quarterback failure, directly criticizing C.J. Stroud. But now, Orlovsky publicly walked back his comments and issued a direct apology to Stroud, admitting he crossed a line.

“On Monday morning after the Patriots-Texans game I said Houston wins that game with 31 other quarterbacks. I want to publicly apologize to C.J. Stroud,” Orlovsky said publicly, while also sharing it on his Instagram story. “I crossed the line. I don’t ever want to do that. When I started eight years ago, I made the commitment to never go on TV and say they won because the quarterback was good or they lost because the quarterback was bad. I’ve been called out on it. I shouldn’t have done it.”

The criticism came after a brutal night for Stroud, no question about it. Mike Vrabel’s defense held Houston to just 16 points and consistently collapsed the pocket. Stroud finished 20-of-47 for 212 yards, one touchdown, and four interceptions, while also taking three sacks, as the Texnas lost 28-16. From a purely statistical standpoint, it was the worst outing of Stroud’s young NFL career. And unfortunately, it came in the Divisional Round.

And while the quarterback surely got immense criticism for his performance, Orlovsky made striking comments, noting: “If you’re Houston, you win that game with 31 other quarterbacks.”

Those comments, though, sparked backlash. Not only because of Orlovsky’s harsh criticism towards Stroud, but because the remark felt dismissive of what the Patriots’ defense actually accomplished at Gillette Stadium. And that’s ultimately where Orlovsky says he went wrong. His words shifted the narrative away from a dominant defensive performance and placed the entire loss on one player.

Recognizing that, he took responsibility, apologizing to Stroud and reinforcing the standard he’s long claimed to hold himself to. Stroud, on the other hand, well, his rough performance from the Divisional Round invited a blunt message from the Texans’ general manager, Nick Caserio.

The Texans’ GM wants C.J. Stroud to improve

C.J. Stroud, the former 2nd overall pick, has started for the Texans for three seasons and taken them to the postseason all three times. The problem is, the ceiling hasn’t moved. Once again, Houston couldn’t get past the Divisional Round, with their latest playoff exit coming at the hands of the Patriots.

With that loss, the focus has naturally shifted from the game itself to Stroud’s future. The timing matters. Following the conclusion of the 2025 season, Stroud is now eligible for a contract extension. But despite the importance of the upcoming offseason, the Texans aren’t publicly framing this moment around money. Instead, Caserio emphasized growth over negotiations.

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“Every player, the offseason is about improvement, and what are some of the things that you can do better?” The GM said. “C.J. had a really good season. He’s done a lot of great things. Done a lot of great things for his team, a lot of great things for this organization. Any time that you pass John Elway in terms of what.”

Statistically, Stroud’s regular season was solid, if not spectacular. He threw for 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns, and eight interceptions while completing 64.5% of his passes. The postseason, however, told a different story. Across two playoff games, he totaled 462 yards, two touchdowns, and five picks.

Still, when asked about an extension heading into the 2026 offseason, Caserio shut the door on specifics, noting, “We haven’t really talked publicly about anybody’s contract.” So for now, Stroud’s third season ends the same way the previous two did, with a playoff disappointment and unanswered questions. The Texans’ message is clear: improvement comes first. What follows in 2026 will determine everything else.