Jarrett Stidham’s opening drive against New England only made things worse for C.J. Stroud

C.J. Stroud has been battered online for his dismal performance against the New England Patriots, which single-handedly eliminated the Houston Texans from going on a deep playoff run. The memes and posts have been unrelenting, to say the least.

Wow this storm is gonna be BAD pic.twitter.com/B8ie72wpJs

To make matters worse for the young quarterback, Denver’s backup already showed more offensive prowess against New England than Stroud did in the divisional round. 

Stidham surpassed Stroud’s efforts in one drive

Jarrett Stidham threw a 52-yard bomb in his opening drive for the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship, his first throw since 2024. He then completed a play-action pass in the red zone to give the Broncos an early lead. Stidham was thrust into action because of Bo Nix’s season-ending injury against the Bills in the previous round of the playoffs. 

Stroud also threw one touchdown against the Patriots on a play-action pass, but he also threw four picks, and his longest completion was shorter than Stidham’s longest one. Stroud’s longest pass went for 42 yards, and it was a checkdown to Dalton Schultz. 

Stroud has been the laughing stock of the NFL for the past week, and the fact that Denver’s backup already showed more composure under pressure than he did against the same defense isn’t a good look for Houston‘s franchise quarterback. 

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