The Houston Texans easily won the eminently winnable AFC South with a 10-7 record. Yet despite earning the right to host a playoff game in the Wild Card round, former coach turned commentator Rex Ryan equated the matchup to a bye for the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. In the first half of Saturday afternoon’s game the Texans have done enough to prove Ryan wrong but, despite an early lead, quarterback C.J. Stroud threw one of the worst interceptions you’ll ever see.

Early in the second quarter, facing a third and seven, Stroud lobbed a pass toward the sideline without a Texans’ receiver in sight. There were, however, three Chargers’ defenders in the vicinity and third-year cornerback Deane Leonard came down with the pick.

The egregious toss was immediately met with scrutiny on social media. “CJ Stroud is seeing ghosts,” Barstool Sports posted on X. Barstool also compared Stroud’s disappointing second year in the league to a man riding in a garbage can.

Underdog NFL commented that Stroud found Leonard wide open, which is true but the two play on different teams.

Texans’ QB C.J. Stroud had an ugly interception against the Chargers

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Despite the criticism, the ugly interception didn’t hurt the Texans as Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert threw a pick of his own on the very next play. The turnover squandered an excellent scoring opportunity for LA, after Stroud gave the team the ball at Houston’s 40 yard line.

After bursting onto the scene in 2023, throwing for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud suffered a sophomore slump. This season he passed for 3,727 yards with 20 TDs and 12 picks.

Still, Stroud has the Texans back in the playoffs, despite a flawed offense. And he was able to overcome the early miscue, leading a scoring drive that gave Houston a 7-6 lead with just under a minute to play in the first half. The Texans then took a 10-6 lead with a field goal prior to halftime.

So far Stroud has gone 14/23 for 180 yards with one touchdown and, of course, one horrible interception.