Texans' CJ Stroud Responds to Edited NBC Interview

An edited interview did not draw the wrath of Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud.

Stroud's postgame comments in the wake of his first professional playoff victory indirectly led to a media controversy. After he headlined the Texans' 45-14 shellacking of the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Wild Card round, Stroud used his postgame interview with NBC Sports' Kathryn Tappen to profess his faith, crediting his 274-yard, three-touchdown performance to guidance from Jesus Christ. But when the interview was uploaded onto NBC's social media channels, the reference of Stroud's divine gratitude was clunkily removed.

The rookie thrower addressed the controversy in an interview with Kameron Hay of Complex Magazine. True to his religious nature, Stroud offered de facto forgiveness, expressing no ill will toward NBC and acknowledging that he himself was not perfect.

"I'm not angry about it," Stroud said. "I wish that it wasn't that but, you know, I pray for people and I think God has called us to love one another through thick and thin, mistakes or success. I just want to show love. We're not all perfect as people, even myself, I follow the Lord but I'm not perfect and I try to just be that light in a dark time."

Divine intervention was apparently on the Texans' side over the latter weeks of the regular season. With a 7-3 mark over their final 10 and an epic collapse from the Jacksonville Jaguars, Stroud was able to guide Houston to an unexpected division title and playoff victory, the franchise's first in both categories since 2019. Though Houston fell to top-ranked Baltimore in the AFC Divisional round, many believe the Texans are forces to be reckoned with thanks to the young upside of Stroud and several other fresh talents.

Whatever Houston's future has in store, Stroud is prepared to embrace it with help from his continued faith.

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"I think God has called us to really just be a light to one another and just show love," Stroud said. "I grew up in the church and I found Christ in myself and I'm just trying to get better and I just want people to feel the love that I felt from God. So I don’t feel any ill will ... It's all love."