The Josh Innes Show - Should CJ Stroud Have Been Benched? Part 1

Episode Date: January 19, 2026

It seems that a large portion of the Texans fanbase believes CJ Stroud should have been benched at Halftime of the Divisional game. I understand why they'd ask the question. I just think it would have been idiotic. Let's hear from DeMeco Ryans and break this thing down... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've got the Texans, and the Texans had their opportunity to make it to their first AFC championship game ever. They've had six previous opportunities before that. They had failed pretty epically in every other opportunity. And this one did not let down. They failed epically at this opportunity. Just the way it went. That's how they operate.

That's who the Texans are. That's what they do. I really thought going into this one that they had a legit shot to win, and they did. I talked to people that have been following the team forever, people associated with the team. people that have been there since the beginning. And yeah, the Texans have been to the divisional round six times before this. This is the first time the Texans entered a divisional round playoff game where I legitimately felt they had a chance to win.

Like they had gone in before and they had faced the Patriots before and they had faced the Ravens before and they had faced the Chiefs before. Never did they go into a second round game where I legitimately believe the Texans had a real chance to win the game. None of the Shob teams, the T.J. Yates team, none of those teams did I believe would actually go in and have a legitimate chance of winning in the second round. This time, because of that defense and because of the fact that, look, is a big difference in playing Drake May. Like if you're playing Drake May versus Tom Brady, Pat Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Flacco back in 2011, whoever it is you're facing in the second round, this is a different

universe, this is a different team, man. Like, this is just, it's a weird, look at the quarterbacks who are in the playoffs, not just left in the playoffs, but look at the teams who started in the playoffs. There ain't nobody that way, other than Josh Allen who you'd circle and go, that dude's a megastar. And I'm talking about even guys like Jalen Hertz, dudes who've been to two Super Bowls. I don't think anybody fears Jalen Hertz. They don't fear Drake May.

They don't fear Bo Nix. They don't fear Jared Stidham. They don't fear any of these guys. It's a different world, man. We're operating in a different universe where quarterback play is. totally different than what it used to be. So if you're the Texans going into that game with the number one defense in the NFL, you feel like you have a legitimate chance of going into Foxborough and winning.

That's why going into that, I felt great. Like, I didn't know if they would win, but I felt good about the opportunity or the possibility that they could win, right? And that's all you're really asking for there. You feel like you could win. And then you didn't. And not only did you not win, like I would say you lost an epic first. fashion because of the way the offense played and all the turnovers.

Score was closer than the game really indicated. Like, you looked at the score and you go, hell, they're in this thing into the fourth quarter. It never felt like they were in it. But the main reason you lost is because C.J. Stroud. C.J. Stroud sucked. We talked about it earlier in the year about whether or not C.J. Stroud's actually good or not.

When they started out 0.13 and I started taking shit from people for those takes. And those takes also kind of were altered a little bit from people and people attacked those takes because of the fact that they started winning a bunch of games. Remember, they were winning those games in spite of C.J. Stroud. They were doing it in cases literally without C.J. Stroud. And they were doing it in cases where Stroud wasn't the main reason why they were winning those games. They were winning with defense. They were taking care of the ball as much as they could. And they were beating teams in that way. Right? Like, that's basically what they did.

It finally came back to get them. They could. They survived it last. week because the Steelers aren't good. The Steelers offensively aren't good. They survived it. They survived poor play from CJ in that one. They couldn't survive poor play in this one because the Patriots are a better coached team with a better current quarterback than Pittsburgh has, better weapons than Pittsburgh has. They couldn't survive all the turnovers because, really, most importantly, the Patriots could match them defensively. Texans are a better defensive team, but the Patriots also didn't suck. So the Patriots were able to take care of it defensively and all that. So you get how that operates.

So let's start here. Let's start with C.J. Stroud. So the big question was whether or not the Texan should have considered Yanking Stroud at half time. Because he sucked, he turned the ball over four times in the first half. They were disaster. Now, here's Domeco Ryan's talking about whether or not that thought ever crossed his mind. No, CJ's our guy. I believe that he could come back out in the second half. And flip it. I believe that he can play better.

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I don't think that's unfair to think. If this is a guy that you're going to pay X millions of dollars to, hundreds of millions of dollars to to be the future of your franchise, you have to at least in some way believe that the guy is going to be able to go out after a shitty first half and play a better second half, right? Like, you're not considering pulling the guy because he played like shit in a half of football unless you're not really sure that that's your guy. You need to see if he's your guy. You got to let him go back out there and figure it out.

And he did that in the second half. He did play better. We had some positive drives there in the second half. I believe that he would do that and he did that. And as I always tell our guys at halftime, it really, it doesn't matter what happened in the first half. You have to flush it, remove it, and you just have to go out and finish the right way. And I told him, we've been there before.

We've been in situations much more dire than this. Including being down 19 in the fourth quarter to the Jaguars. Now, granted, that wasn't that quarterback that won. that that was Davis Mills. And we were able to bounce back. So, you know, in my mind, there was no doubt in my mind that we would be able to overcome that. Same. Now, I'd be lying to you if I was, you know, told you that

I wasn't sitting on the couch watching, going, huh, I wonder if they're considering that. Like, you can sit there and I'm seeing some comments. That's coach speak and it's best. Not really. Not really. Like, I believe he believes that. Coach speak is when you say shit that you don't believe. I believe D'Amico believes that. Right? Like, D'Amico believes

that his guy is going to get the job done. D'Amico believes that he can write the ship, right? Like, that's your guy. You dance with who brought you there, and he was the guy. So, like, when I see these people talking, like, it was just obvious. Like, it was a foregone conclusion that, like, he must be pulled from the game. Like, it's a must. Like, when I see people reading, I read these comments from people, and they're fucking idiots.

These people are morons. They operate in this world where it's just obvious. Fucking Davis Mills? These are the same people, by the way. The same people clamoring for Davis Mills yesterday are the same people who a month ago if you would have said, hey, I think we should ride with Davis Mills over C.J. Strout. They're the same people that would have called you a fucking moron for saying that.

Those are the same people that would have said, what the fuck are you talking about? We got C.J. Stroud. He's healthy. What are you talking about Davis Mills? Davis Mills is fine. Then they would dig up all of his stats and say, was his stats really all that good? Wow, he did this.

But is he really that good? Now, those are the same people. Those are the same people who are now telling you today that it was obvious that Davis Mills would have given you the best chance to win. Was it? Do you really believe that Davis Mills was going to go into the 21 to 10 game or whatever it was at halftime? Do you believe that Davis Mills was going to go into that game and save the day? Like I read a comment just a second ago because I was reading some of the comments that people were posting on the Domeko Ryan's video. And one of the comments was, all we needed was a game manager at halftime and they would have won the game.

Really, you were down 21 to 10. You need a little bit more than a game manager. A little bit. And by the way, he went wrong. Stroud actually played a little bit better in the second half. Look, he was a disaster. And if you want to talk about like long-term shit and whether or not C.J. Stroud is your long-term solution to quarterback.

That is a very fair debate to get into. And it's one that should be discussed because real talk. Stroud's got issues, brother. And we talked about it early in the season. The guy looks despondent a lot of the time. And the guy looked like he had seen a good. ghost and after watching that game yesterday, that's probably not the guy I'd want to give $250 million to be your franchise quarterback, right?

Like, that's fine. If you don't believe that C.J. Stroud is the long-term answer. Fine. I'm all on board with you. Rock on. Because I don't either. Especially after that, right? I don't know how you could watch that and be like, yep, C.J. Stroud, that's our

long-term solution. That's our quarterback. Of course, you don't feel that way. And you shouldn't have felt that way the first thing. three weeks of the year. And you really shouldn't have felt that way through any of the season, really the last year and a half, almost two years, ever since the first season where he was great, he hadn't been great since then. And if you said, Josh, right now, and it's your money, and you have to pay the quarterback and you have to make the decision whether or not he's going

to be your guy for the future, I would not pay him. I would not give him a dime. And I would see what the hell else is out there. I wouldn't give it to fucking Davis Mills, but I'd see what else is out there and I'd consider moving on. I mean, you got another year with the guy anyway, so you can see what you got. Maybe add, like, the, I think they're still in a position with him where they can, where they've got like a rookie deal where they can give him the fifth year option on his rookie deal, whatever. That's fine.

Right? You let him see what he's got. I'm cool with that. Like, I don't think you're in debt. I don't think the team is screwed if C.J. Stroud is their quarterback next year. I don't think it's a, like the franchise dies and they go two and 15 if Stroud's the quarterback. You got to know what you have.

Because there's enough you see of him where you go, maybe he's great. There's also enough where you see where you. say, okay, they're fucked, and he's not the guy. So, like, and that's how I felt watching that game yesterday. But at no point in watching that game, did the thought cross my mind that, hey, maybe they should, like, it's an obvious thing that they should pull him. There was never a thought in my mind that, you know, Davis Mills couldn't, could win the game. Never.

Congrats to Davis Mills for playing a couple of good games with the Texans, having a great comeback win against the Jaguars that kind of catapulted this whole thing and jumpstarted the rest of the season, all that. There was no way Davis Mills was going to go in and win that game. And the fact that people believe that just shows that they're fucking idiots. Now, if you want to debate, again, we talked about this. If you want to debate whether or not they should have pulled him, I think there's a debate that can be had there. I'm not dismissing the idea of that.

Like, I'm not dismissing the idea that you could say, all right, pull the guy. Because, look, the thought crossed everyone's mind watching the game, right? When you're watching the game, like, it's impossible to not watch a guy throw four interceptions and go, get this guy fucking out of here. What's the next option? But then you realize the next option is Davis Mills and you're like, look, I don't care how well Davis Mills played for some moments during the season. If I've got a guy that I am questioning whether or not he's going to be the star of my franchise, the future of my franchise, if I'm still debating that about this guy, he doesn't leave the field in that game.

There's never a point where I'm thinking he's got to go. Now, of course, people like to use the argument, well, what about the? What about the rest of the guys? I guarantee you the rest of the guys on the field, even though they were watching him play like shit. I guarantee you those guys think that he's their best bet to win. He's their guy. They ride with him. They die with him.

Let's hear some more Damico audio here. Keep your head up. I love you. Like, I got your back. And that's what I told him at halftime. This whole team has your back. Like, we're in this thing together from day one. Like, it doesn't change from me.

Like, we have a really special. group, a tight-knit group. When things don't go your way, you have bad performances, it's not a time to point fingers or say it's on one person. If anybody, it all starts with me. All right, that's great. That is coach-speak when they say it all starts on me with the coach. That's what you have to say.

You're obligated to say that, but let's not act like that's like, you know, like obvious something that you have to do. For me, as the head coach of this team, we didn't perform well. Obviously, I didn't have our guys, you know, ready to go in this month. moment. So that starts with me. We stick together. There you go. Look, again, I can understand if you listen to that and roll your eyes. But to me, there's no way, because here's one thing you know, you know that Davis Mills is the future of your franchise. And you know that because Davis Mills has been here for 100 years and no one's ever viewed Davis Mills as the future of this franchise

or any other franchise. So if you've got a guy who you think can be and are still questioning whether or not he's the future of the franchise, then you don't pull that guy. You don't put him on the bench and say, ah, tough shit, it's over. You give him a chance to dig his way out of it. That's your option there. Because if you pull him, it's over for the guy. Now, again, that's not the reason. I don't believe you sit there and say, well, we're afraid we're going to fuck with him mentally.

If we pull him, therefore we don't. I don't think that's the reason you do that. But I do think you're still at risk of doing that if that's how you approach that. If you approach that with, if you take him out of the game, I think he, look, here's my issue with Stroud. Here's why I would never give this guy money. but he seems like a mental midget, bro. Like when I watch the dude play, I don't feel like I'm watching a dude that like,

like I watched him. Again, look, you throw four interceptions and a half of football and it just snowballs on you. I don't know how anybody looks confident in that situation. My man looks fucking lost. Like he looks disheveled. He looks like he's about to start crying like he did over Homeboy when he broke his leg.

Like, I don't watch CJ Stroud and think that CJ Stroud's the guy that's going to lead you there. So, and I think most people feel the same way. But I also watched that game and felt that it's not a situation where you pull the guy. That's a mistake. If you pull the guy out of that game, that's a mistake because I want to know if this guy can dig himself out of this. And who knows? Maybe this is your last great shot to win and maybe this defense breaks up.

And maybe you don't have a Legion of Boom thing where the defense is amazing for five, six, seven years. And you can ride a defense to multiple Super Bowl appearances like Russ Wilson did. Maybe that situation never comes. Maybe that never happens. maybe the Texans never do that. That's very possible. Maybe the Texans just never at any point evolve into that. Maybe this is a one-off deal where you don't build something.

But maybe you are building something. You know, maybe it is. But maybe it never gets to that point. Maybe this was your last great chance. And maybe it was a mistake. Maybe we'll look back 20 years from now and say, what would have happened if they would have pulled the Stroud? Biggest Stroud, you know, in 20 years from now,

maybe becomes an absolute loser and maybe never evolves into anything. And he's just an afterthought. and he's a hey remember when remember CJ Stroud boy what a wild time that way he fell off the face of the earth maybe it is maybe that's what becomes of that it's not impossible it's very possible that that's what we end up with in Houston maybe but maybe it's not you know but big picture I think in that moment the right decision was made to stick with him because you need to know what you got you know that Davis mills is not your answer. We all know this. You know he's not the end. So let's just say what happens? I mean, look, and I know you can't

worry about these kind of things. You're trying to win a game. But what happens if Davis Mills does win that game? Davis Mills starts the AFC championship game? Is that one is happening? Well, and look, and there are examples of this over the course of history. And by the way, thanks to all the people who are in the chat. Like, I know, look, I just kind of randomly did this today. So it's not like a ton of people are going to be in the chat on YouTube. I get that. But I appreciate you guys. I got like from the 203. in there. I got Nick Rotindo in there. I've got Jacob in there.

Some other guys. I have Bean 565. Look, I appreciate you guys. Again, if I do this on a more consistent basis, maybe I'll get more people in there to watch. Sam is in there as well. So, like, I appreciate you guys. You're awesome. And who knows? King Bling is in there. So maybe a bunch

of people will eventually find it. I never do this. I haven't been, I couldn't tell you the last time I did a full-on, like, podcast on YouTube. So who knows? maybe if I pimped it out a little bit more and more people would join. I don't know.

Who fucking knows. I don't. But anywho.