PITTSBURGH – C.J. Stroud will look his teammates in the eyes Monday on a cold, clear Pittsburgh night, call the play, break the huddle and scan the field at the line of scrimmage.
For the Texans’ third-year quarterback, the playoffs represent an elite proving ground. And Stroud has displayed his competitive mettle on the elevated stage of the postseason.
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Stroud is in a rare category as a young quarterback who has found immediate success in these clutch moments. Heading into a Monday night AFC wild-card showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Stroud has already played in four career playoff games.
He’s won half of those starts, winning both of his two wild-card games as he engineered blowout victories over the Los Angeles Chargers and Cleveland Browns. A win over the Steelers would put him in the company of Otto Graham, Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win a playoff game in each of their first three seasons.
“Man, seven, he’s built for these moments: calm, collected, ready to lead,” Texans Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins said of the teammate he simply refers to by his jersey number. “He’s the reason why he’s the leader. He’s built for these moments. Going out there, it’s cool ,having fun.
“That’s one thing I ain’t worried about, you know, so I just can’t wait to go out there and have fun with him go out there and have fun with the guys, man, and go out on Monday Night Football and just have fun.”
PITTSBURGH -- A look at #Texans vs. #Steelers playoff game with @KPRC2 @KPRC2RandyMc @KPRCNick @EarlMitchell90 #NFLPlayoffs2026 pic.twitter.com/9jRPQG8206
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 12, 2026
That word applies to how Stroud has operated in the playoffs.
The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year has passed for 976 yards, and four touchdowns with a 100.5 passer rating in four career playoff games.
That includes going 2-0 in the wild-card round.
“I’m excited,” Stroud said. ”The experience that I’ve been able to gain in the last two years has been very important and helpful. But this is a new year, and I never played on the road in a wild card game, so there’s a new experience in that.
“But I have a good idea on how some of these games go and that’s you don’t have an idea. It can go any way, and this is a good team we’re playing against. So, I’m trying to be prepared in my preparation as much as I can.”
Growing up in California, Stroud had a short list of favorite quarterbacks he looked up to as true masters of the art of throwing the football.
And Aaron Rodgers, in his prime years with the Green Bay Packers, was at the very top of the list alongside Matthew Stafford.
Stroud leads the 12-5 Texans riding an NFL-high nine-game winning streak.
And Rodgers, 4-1 all-time against the Texans with 17 touchdowns and one interception against them and a win over them last year while quarterbacking the New York Jets with three touchdown passes, represents a challenge against the NFL’s top-ranked defense.
“I’m a big fan of Aaron, I love what he does,” Stroud said. ”He’s been a heck of a player. I think he’s a top-three quarterback to ever touch a football. He’s done some really cool things in the sport. His mechanics are through the roof. His ability to use his pro-nation on his wrist and how he flicks the ball is just dope.
“I’m a big fan of his. This will be my second time facing him. I’m a big fan of his. I’m not going to be rooting for him on Monday night, but I think he’s a heck of a player and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s done it for a long time and is even doing it at a high level at his age now. A lot of respect for him.”
Since returning from a concussion that forced him to miss three games, Stroud has manufactured six consecutive victories. Over the past five weeks, he has eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
He finished the season with 3,041 yards, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions
“I know a lot gets to be made about playoff experience,” Ryans said. ”The game doesn’t change. It’s the playoffs. We know what’s at stake here, win or go home, but we just got to go out and play our game that we’ve been playing. C.J. continues to play well, protect the football, do a great job of distributing.
“If he does a great job of distributing and doing what he needs to do, playing the quarterback position at an elite level, what he’s done his entire career, he does that, plays good for us, we’ll be in a good spot. I think C.J. is as prepared as anybody. He’s locked in and he’s focused, he’s ready for this moment. He’s doing all the things it takes for him to play the quarterback position well, and that’s all he needs to do.”
The experience Stroud has gained is invaluable in the postseason.
And now he hopes to apply that advanced knowledge in a road football game with high stakes at Pittsburgh.
The relationship between Stroud and first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley has grown throughout the year. Caley, in his first year as an NFL play-caller, has overcome a rough start. And the offensive line hasn’t allowed Stroud to be sacked in three games in a row.
The collaboration between Stroud and Caley has involved a ton of time spent together and a lot of communication at all hours of the day. Caley has installed a New England Patriots style offense he learned as a young assistant working for Bill Belichick on teams headlined by Tom Brady while coaching tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Caley was a target for frequent criticism throughout the season, but he’s found a groove lately by adapting his style and working well with Stroud.
“I think his ability to block out the noise and continue to go forward,” Stroud said. ”I think everybody in this day, and age wants a microwave. They want to throw something in the microwave, let it heat up fast and be a new product. That’s none of us. Football is an oven type of sport or whatever you use, a Crock-Pot, whatever any of y’all use. I think this team, we try to do our best to block out the noise and stay in our brotherhood and lean on one another.
“I thought he’s done a great job of leaning on us, asking us what we like, even if it didn’t work, like not running away from asking guys what they like and putting guys in position to do what we need to do best. I’m just proud of that guy. I think he’s done a heck of a job of calling it, of being honest. One thing I respect about Cales is he doesn’t point fingers. If he does, it’s in the right way. It’s not like blame game. It’s like, ‘Hey, you can be better here because I know you can.’ He’s uplifting and I have a lot of love for that guy. He’s done a heck of a job for us this year.”
Stroud and Caley have very different personalities. Caley has a lot of juice and is amped-up at any time of the day. Stroud has a more laid-back demeanor.
“I think we have a great relationship,” Caley said. “I think it’s transparency. It’s honesty. It’s cohesiveness. We’re always trying to communicate and share ideas and thoughts. I have a lot of respect for him and I’m proud of the way he’s played this year.
“His best is out in front of him. He’s a competitor. He’s a stud. I’m glad he’s our quarterback. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think it’s just continuing to grow the more we’ve spent time with each other throughout the year.”
Stroud, 24, and Rodgers, 42, are at entirely different stages of their NFL careers.
Stroud has rebounded from a tough start to the season, an 0-3 mark, and missing three games with a concussion with backup Davis Mills going 3-0 when he was sidelined.
Rodgers has had a career resurgence this season with the Steelers, galvanized by their tradition and a good relationship with veteran coach Mike Tomlin. Plus, imposing wide receiver DK Metcalf is back from serving a two-game suspension for his dust-up with a Detroit Lions fan.
In a win-or-go-home rivalry game against the Baltimore Ravens, Rodgers passed for 294 yards and three touchdowns as he completed 31 of 47 passes to win the AFC North division title.
“Aaron has had a ton of success in this league,” said Ryans, a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker who’s the primary architect of a defense headlined by All-Pro corner Derek Stingley Jr. and standout defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. “He’s one of the best quarterbacks to play this game. He’s that way for a reason. He’s a very smart guy and does a really good job of taking a couple plays to the line of scrimmage and trying to get them into the most advantageous play when he sees the defense and he sees what he’s facing and he sees a weakness of where he can get the ball out quick, that’s where he’s going to go with the football.
“For us, it’s not so much of a chess match. Defensively, we know he’s going to figure out what you’re doing, how you’re disguising, all those things. It’s going to be about us collectively as a team, not just about Aaron Rodgers. It’s our defense versus their offense. They have a ton of playmakers who Aaron gets the ball to that do a really great job in space of making guys miss. We have to do a great job of tackling whoever gets the football.”
Stroud is up against a formidable Steelers pass rush headlined by former NFL Defensive Player of the Year outside linebacker T.J. Watt, the younger brother of former Texans three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt.
“They rush together,” Stroud said. “They’re going to push the pocket and burn the edge. I think they do a great job even with their effort. They’re getting chips and things like that the whole game and they’re still going very hard. I think their whole defensive line is the heartbeat of their team. Overall, they’ve done a really good job. They make it hard and they play really hard. It’s going to be a challenge.”
Now, Stroud, battle-tested in his first two seasons, takes on the Steelers. Win and advance to the divisional round where the Texans are 0-6 all-time as a franchise in the postseason and the only team in the AFC to never reach the AFC championship game in team history.
“I think we have a lot of experience in high-pressure moments, high-pressure games,” Stroud said. ”It’ll be an opportunity for us to do it again. I think it’s a heck of an opportunity to play in a legendary stadium against a legendary coach, a legendary team.
“This is going to be a great challenge. We’ve got to be ready. It’s going to be cold and it’s going to be loud and it’s going to be a lot of elements that are not for us but are against us. But we’ve been in this before. We’ve played plenty of cold games, plenty of loud games, been in silent operations. A lot of experience in a lot of different ways. I think that will pay off when we go up there on Monday night.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com