Texans’ Season Ends in Disappointment-On and Off the Field
The Houston Texans’ playoff exit was tough enough on its own. A 28-16 loss to the New England Patriots sent them packing from the postseason, but the misery didn’t end when the final whistle blew in Foxborough.
Hours after the game, C.J. Stroud and the rest of the Texans found themselves stuck-literally-still in the air more than 12 hours after kickoff, grounded by brutal winter weather and travel delays.
According to reports, the team’s return flight out of Massachusetts was hit with significant weather-related setbacks, including heavy snow and other complications. By 8 a.m.
ET on Monday, the Texans were still airborne, long after their playoff hopes had already crash-landed. The game itself wrapped up just before 7 p.m. the night before, meaning the team spent the better part of a night and morning in limbo-both figuratively and literally.
For a team already nursing the wounds of a third straight divisional-round playoff loss, the travel chaos only added salt to the wound. And in typical internet fashion, fans didn’t hold back. Social media lit up with sarcastic jabs-one fan joked that the Texans’ trip was “intercepted by weather,” while another quipped, “They decided to just go straight to Cancun.”
But behind the jokes is a hard truth: this was a tough day for the Texans, and especially for their young quarterback.
C.J. Stroud, who’s been the face of Houston’s resurgence since being drafted No. 2 overall in 2023, struggled mightily in the cold and chaos of Foxborough.
He completed just 16 of 37 passes, threw four interceptions, and finished with 178 yards and a single touchdown. It was a performance that raised eyebrows-and not in a good way.
Stroud’s playoff résumé now includes three straight divisional-round exits under head coach DeMeco Ryans. For a franchise still searching for its first trip beyond that round, the weight of unmet expectations is starting to grow heavier.
Meanwhile, Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye looked every bit the part of a rising star. He threw three touchdown passes and helped lead New England to its first AFC Championship Game appearance in seven years. One of Stroud’s interceptions was returned for a touchdown by Marcus Jones, a dagger that helped seal the Texans’ fate.
Maye’s stat line wasn’t flawless-he went 16 of 27 for 179 yards, threw an interception, and fumbled four times (losing two). But in a game defined by turnovers and played in messy, wintry conditions, he did just enough to push his team forward. In fact, the eight combined turnovers between the two teams marked the most in a playoff game since 2015, when the Panthers and Cardinals matched that number in the NFC title game.
Houston’s lone bright spot came after one of Maye’s fumbles, which set up their first touchdown. But the momentum never stuck. The Patriots’ defense clamped down, and Stroud’s miscues proved too costly to overcome.
Now, as the Patriots prepare for their 16th conference championship appearance-and their first since the end of the Bill Belichick era-the Texans are left to reflect on another postseason that ended too soon. The pieces are there: a talented quarterback, a promising head coach, and a roster that’s clearly taken strides. But for now, the ceiling remains the same.
And for a team that couldn’t even get home on time, that feeling of being stuck might be the most fitting metaphor of all.