Dan Orlovsky prides his ability to assess NFL teams and quarterbacks with nuanced analysis and context, something he failed to do with C.J. Stroud this week.<\/p>\n
Thursday morning, Orlovsky joined ESPN\u2019s Get Up to preview this weekend\u2019s AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos. But first, Orlovsky apologized to the quarterback New England beat to get there.<\/p>\n
I should\u2019ve been better pic.twitter.com\/zJ7ZkrOW9R<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) January 22, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cOn Monday morning after the Patriots-Texans game, I went on and said, \u2018Houston wins that game with 31 other quarterbacks.\u2019 I want to publicly apologize to C.J. Stroud,\u201d Orlovsky said<\/a>. \u201cI crossed the line. I don\u2019t ever want to do that. When I started eight years ago, I made the commitment, never go on TV and say the won because the quarterback played good or they lost because the quarterback played bad. I\u2019ve been called out on it. Accountability, full stop. Shouldn\u2019t have done it.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s ways for me to say\u2026 \u2018C.J. Stroud did the one thing he couldn\u2019t do and that\u2019s why they lose the game.\u2019 I don\u2019t want to take away from New England\u2019s defense as well. Full stop. That wasn\u2019t cool of me. That was wrong of me.\u201d<\/p>\n C.J. Stroud was really bad against the Patriots. His four interceptions in the first half were so bad that it had fans and analysts questioning whether the Texans should consider moving on from the quarterback they selected with the No. 2 overall pick just three years ago. Orlovsky wasn\u2019t wrong for placing blame on Stroud, but he placed all the blame on Stroud.<\/p>\n Dan Orlovsky fell into what can be an easy trap on TV. Sports debate shows encourage putting a little something extra on a take to make it more attention-grabbing. And claiming every other starting NFL quarterback could have led Houston to a win over New England was that little extra on top of saying Stroud was really bad.<\/p>\n The take caused Orlovsky to garner backlash<\/a> from Texans fans, Patriots fans, and NFL fans who noticed he didn\u2019t treat Josh Allen\u2019s four turnovers against the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round with similar vitriol. But after days of being on the receiving end of criticism for his bold take, credit Orlovsky for apologizing, even as other sports entertainers might have been more likely to\u00a0double- or triple-down<\/a>.<\/p>\n \t