Nearly every single man in the Texans locker room was not just ready, but eager to give CJ Stroud his well deserved flowers following Houston's win over the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday night, which secured a playoff berth for the upstart Texans. To a man, each of the Texans who spoke after the game gave the lion's share of the credit to their rookie quarterback… except for their rookie quarterback himself.

“It’s not me. It’s my teammates.” (h/t Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston)

That was CJ Stroud's message on ESPN after the game. Now keep in mind, this performance from Stroud wasn't the first time all season he's come through with late-game heroics. The 22-year-old rookie has come through in the clutch all season long. But in this moment, on this stage, for Stroud to come through with a nearly flawless performance — 20-for-26, 264 yards, 2 touchdowns, 134.1 passer rating — well, that's the stuff legends are made of. Sure, we shouldn't move forward without acknowledging first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans, or emerging star wide receiver Nico Collins (9 catches, 195 yards, 1 touchdown against Indy), or a Texans defense that lacks traditional star power, but has performed well all season long.

But again, the story here is CJ Stroud.

Rookie quarterbacks aren't supposed to have this sort of immediate impact. There's traditionally a learning curve that young players, especially quarterbacks, are required to overcome. I'm sure Stroud has had his bumps in the road during his rookie season, but it hasn't been visible like it is for so many rookie quarterbacks. After all, had Stroud not missed two starts due to a concussion, he would've put up the traditional numbers, and had the type of win-loss record to not only be a runaway winner for Rookie of the Year, but also to be strongly considered for MVP. And let's be honest, Stroud should be in the MVP conversation right now, because this type of praise doesn't come for guys who aren't “valuable.”

“He's everything. When you got a guy under center that takes command of the whole team, he has an aura about him that's special. There's a reason why we're going to the playoffs.” – Brevin Jordan on CJ Stroud.

“Without him, we don't accomplish half of the things that we have. Man, 7 has been phenomenal for us. Everybody in this building appreciates having him and is blessed to have him here. We just got to give all credit to 7. His personality affects everybody in this locker room. His attitude and energy bleed through the whole locker room. It makes everybody want to step up and keep playing better.” – Will Anderson on CJ Stroud

“CJ doesn't surprise me. We talked about it earlier in the week with CJ being special in these big-time moments when you need it most, to step up and make plays. He's done it time after time throughout the entire year. It's not surprising. That's who he is. He's one of the best passers in this league. And he shows it consistently, game in and game out.” – DeMeco Ryans on CJ Stroud

(All quotes courtesy of DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN.com)