NBC wasn’t having itself a religious experience.
Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud thanked Jesus in a live postgame interview after Houston’s 45-14 wild-card round win Saturday over the Browns — but when the network’s “Sunday Night Football” on NBC account on X posted the clip shortly after, that part was edited out.
“First of all, I just want to give all glory and praise to my lord and savior, Jesus Christ,” Stroud told Kathryn Tappen on the live broadcast.
“I mean, it’s been amazing being in this city for as short as I’ve been but the love that I’ve got. I’ve really just been doing it for Houston, man. The people back home, I’m blessed enough to be in the position that I’m in and blessed enough to be playing at a high level right now. We gotta just keep it going, but I’m super blessed.”
Whether it was an intentional cut or a misguided attempt at shortening a video for social media is unknown, but the discrepancy did not go unnoticed.
“It seems like being religious and praying to a god is no longer allowed,” aggregation account @_MLFootball wrote on X.
“First they cut Al Michaels from the playoff roster, now they cut a rookie quarterback thanking Jesus,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote. “Take a bow, NBC. You’re having a great week.”
“What was the first words out of his mouth from the interview?” Another X user wrote in response to @SNFonNBC’s post. “Must’ve been a glitch”
Stroud, 22, threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns in the win.
The rookie — who has “Follower of Christ” in all his social media bios — is not shy about discussing his faith.
“It’s what’s kept me grounded even through my season,” he told Fox New Digital last year. “Football has a lot of ups and downs, it has a lot of twists and turns, but at the end of the day, it’s all about your foundation. And something that’s set my foundation is my faith.
“It’s something I’m not perfect in, but I try to work every day to be better, and I definitely think that’s what saved me. If it helps encouraging anybody to help them in their lives, whatever they’re going through, then I’m all for it.”
Stroud and Houston take on the Ravens on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. EST, a game set to be aired on ESPN.
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