The Defining Trait of the Best QB Performances from Wild Card Weekend

Few traits are as important for a quarterback as his ability to make throws from the pocket with pressure closing in. It doesn’t happen every play, but there are critical moments throughout a game where the defense is bringing pressure via the blitz, using stunts, or just getting home with a fierce 4-man rush. And the quarterback has to be able to keep his focus downfield and make the throw as if the rush isn’t there.

From the quarterbacks with Super Bowl rings (Patrick Mahomes and Matthew Stafford) to quarterbacks making their first playoff starts (C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love), this trait was on display in some of the best performances throughout the weekend.

This first example comes from the Texans’ 45-14 blowout win over the Browns.

To put it mildly, Houston has a downfield passing attack. They led the NFL in frequency of pass attempts traveling more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage this season. To do that, you need time. That’s definitely not something you’re guaranteed to have against a pass rush like the Browns have.

Even when the Texans kept 7 in to protect, the Browns were still able to get some pressure on C.J. Stroud early. That’s where his ability to stand firm in the pocket, keep his focus downfield, and make throws knowing he was about to get smoked came into play:

That was Houston’s second offensive snap, before Stroud had a chance to really get settled into the game. Pretty impressive for a rookie. But we’ve seen this type of play from Stroud all season, so we really shouldn’t be surprised.

Here’s another example from later in the first quarter. Stroud would hold onto the ball and work through all his reads on this one, finally coming back to Nico Collins downfield late. Again, the Browns would eventually get some pressure, this time off of a late green-dog blitz by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.

Again, the pressure didn’t phase Stroud, who delivered this throw right before taking another big hit: