Rookie Aireontae Ersery's simple words ignited C.J. Stroud's confidence, turning the tide and securing a crucial playoff victory.
Early in the third quarter, it looked as if the Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had finally gained some offensive momentum.
With the Texans holding on to a slim one-point lead, Stroud led his unit up the field to the Pittsburgh Steelers' 14-yard line.
Even though the Texans have had issues scoring in the red zone during the regular season, Stroud's momentum had Houston on the brink of increasing the lead.
But just as things had played out in the first half, Stroud turned the ball over (his third of the game) while trying to make a tight window throw to wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson.
Houston's momentum was taken away, and Stroud headed to the bench for what seemed to have become routine throughout the game, with him wondering what went wrong, but this time, instead of just talking to quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson, a familiar face walked towards Stroud, which seemed to bring his spirits up.
Rookie offensive tackle Aireontae Ersery made his way from the other end of the bench to talk with his quarterback and gave him some encouraging words that Stroud needed at the time, and that would loom large in the Texans' 30-6 AFC Wild Card victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
"I just told him to keep dealing the ball bro," said Ersery exclusively to Big Sarge Media after the game. "We (offensive line) are going to protect you. Just keeping his confidence up, I seen that look on his face and I just wanted to make sure he knew that his brothers had his back."
It was precisely the words of affirmation Stroud needed as he protected the ball for the rest of the game, going 5 for 9 with 100 yards passing and helping Houston advance to the AFC Divisional Round for the third time in as many years to face the second-seeded New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Stroud had some uncharacteristic turnovers during the game, as he and center Jake Andrews had difficulty getting on the same page at the snap of the ball. He had a total of five fumbles, three from the center-to-quarterback exchange and two on quarterback hits, with both recovered by the Steelers defense, along with the previously mentioned interception on the pass intended for Hutchinson.
"No, just got to get it fixed," said Stroud after the game when asked if the weather played any factor in the miscues with Andrews.
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans expressed that the offensive side of the ball needs to clean up the turnovers if they want to advance to their first AFC Championship Game in franchise history on Sunday.
Still, he also acknowledged the amount of poise Stroud played with despite the miscues.
"Thought C.J. stepped up and made some big plays," said Ryans during his postgame press conference about Stroud's demeanor after the second-half interception.
Throughout the week of preparation, many Texans players expressed complete confidence in their third-year quarterback and don't expect him to have any more uncharacteristic handling of the football against the Patriots.
"C.J. is a dog," said offensive lineman Tytus Howard. "He wont have a repeat performance of the last game when it comes to ball security. We have belief in him and every player on this team knows exactly who he is and what he stands for. We have no doubt that he can lead us throughout these playoffs."
Category: General Sports
