This afternoon's AFC Divisional matchup between the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots will feature the first postseason matchup of two of the best sub-25 year old signal callers in the NFL. That being the Texans' C.J. Stroud against the Patriots' Drake Maye. 

Both quarterbacks have had hot starts to their careers, and now they do battle in Gillette Stadium for a spot in the AFC Championship game. 

Below is some evaluation of both quarterbacks, as well as a predictions for how they may do in today's game.

Maye has electrified the NFL this season, passing for 4,394 yards (fourth-most) on 72% completion (best). He threw for 31 touchdowns (third-best) and eight interceptions, while maintaining a 113.5 passer rating for the season (best). 

All that led to Maye earning NFL Second Team All-Pro honors in just his second season as a starting quarterback. More importantly, his play led to a 14-3 record, the second seed in the AFC and a 16-3 win against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wildcard round. 

Heading into the Divisional round against the Texans, Maye would be faced with his toughest defensive challenge of the year. Houston doesn't give up many points, and they're very stingy when it comes to allowing skill position players to accumulate gaudy amounts of yards against them. 

For Maye to have an impact in this contest, he'll have to keep calm under pressure and get the ball out of his hands as quickly as possible. Not only that, but weaponizing his legs will be key, as the Texans' defense has allowed quarterbacks to rush for 20 yards or more 10 times this season (30+ yards: six times, 50+ yards: once)

For all the positives, Maye has also shown shown a negative tendency to take more defensive contact than what a head coach would prefer from his starting signal caller. This is evidenced by Maye being the fourth-most sacked quarterback in the NFL with 47 takedowns. That's not a recipe for success against a Texans defense that ranks ninth in sacks with 47. 

Drake Maye performance prediction: 

Stroud has had an uneven season of sorts, but still passed for over 3,000+ yards on 64.5% completion. He threw for 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while having a 92.9 passer rating for the year. 

He also missed three games due to a concussion, with the team going 3-0 in his absence (which caused some concern in the fanbase over how effective Stroud really has been for the offense this season). 

Regardless, Stroud is entering his third NFL postseason at only 24 years old, and he's already the best Playoff quarterback in franchise history with a 3-2 record (his three wins equals Deshaun Watson, Brock Osweiler and Matt Schaub's combined output). 

Stroud had a rough outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Houston's 30-6 victory on Monday night, as he had a chronic case of "the fumbles". He fumbled the football five times (two lost) and also threw a crucial interception at the Steelers' goal line. 

Still, he went 21/32 for 250 yards, one touchdown pass and an 86.7 passer rating.

If he can protect the football a lot more and be situationally sound, the Texans could finally reach the AFC Championship round for the first time in franchise history.

C.J. Stroud performance prediction:

Which quarterback do you think will do the best today? Let us know in the comments section below and by mentioning us at @Texans_RTB on X and @Texans.Roundtable on TikTok!