There’s no way around the obvious fact that C.J. Stroud had a disastrous showing against the Patriots in the divisional round. The Texans’ elimination is a direct result of their quarterback throwing four first-half interceptions. It's objectively one of the worst games an NFL QB has ever had to suffer through and unfortunately for Stroud it came in the playoffs, meaning that it’ll be his legacy until he over comes it. Heck, if he overcomes it.
As such, Stroud was appropriately criticized by everyone after the nightmarish showing. ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky, one of the nicest people in media, went so far as to say that the Texans would have won the game with 31 other quarterbacks.
"If you're Houston, you win that game with 31 other quarterbacks." 👀
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) January 19, 2026
—@danorlovsky7 on the Texans' loss to the Patriots pic.twitter.com/QsjfpYwstx
And while that may very well be true if some those 31 signal-callers took better care of the football, Orlovsky got a fair amount of online pushback, which all led to a mea culpa on Thursday's Get Up.
“I want to go back to Monday morning because after the Patriots-Texans game I went on and said ‘Houston wins that game with 31 other quarterbacks,’” Orlovsky said. “I want to publicly apologize to C.J. Stroud.”
I should’ve been better pic.twitter.com/zJ7ZkrOW9R
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 22, 2026
“I crossed the line,” he continued. “I don’t ever want to do that in this role ... I’ve been called out on it. Accountablity. Full stop. Shouldn’t have done it. There's ways for me to say that in regards to ‘C.J. Stroud did the one thing that he couldn’t do and that's why they lose the game.’ I don't want to take away from New England’s defense as well so, full-stop. That wasn’t cool of me. That was wrong of me.”
Orlovsky didn't need to apologize. People are harsher all over the place, every day, than he was about Stroud. The sports media world is full of toxicity, fair or otherwise.
Which is what makes it notable that he did put his hand up and say he made a mistake. Because he is right. There was a better way for him to get his point across. No one really believes Stroud is the worst quarterback in the league, which is what the original comments seem to suggest. Orlovsky certainly doesn’t.
Anyway, perhaps it’s from a bygone era but it’s nice to see people on television who actually care about the impact and selection of their words—and a have a willingness for some self-reflection.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated
- Ravens to Hire Chargers Defensive Coordinator Jesse Minter As New Head Coach
- Eight Backup QBs Who Helped Teams to Super Bowl Wins
- Report: FBI Involved in Investigation of Death of Colts Owner Jim Irsay
- Jaxson Dart Used One Word in His Candid Reaction to Giants’ John Harbaugh Hire
- Bills’ Brandin Cooks Doubles Down on Controversial Interception Call: ‘It Was a Catch’
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Orlovsky Apologizes to C.J. Stroud for ‘Crossing Line’ With Harsh Take.
