Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has not been as good in Year Two as he was in his rookie of the year season in 2023. And Houston fans are noticing.
Stroud and his teammates were getting booed by the home crowd on Christmas, and Stroud said after the game that he can’t say they were wrong.
“People are entitled to their opinions and they care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand,” Stroud said. “This is not my first time and it probably won’t be my last. This is not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself but it is something that you can use to motivate you, to not want those moments anymore. I got plenty of football left in my career hopefully, God willing, and I know this is going to be a story I’ll tell one day that helps me in the long run. It’s part of life. You hit a lot of valleys and you have a lot of mountaintops. It’s a cliché, but there’s not sunny days if there aren’t days with rain. So, this is a rainy day, but at the end of the day, the sun will rise up tomorrow and we have another crack at this thing next week and keep rolling.”
Stroud is worse across the board this year: Lower completion percentage, lower yards per pass and a lower passer rating. Fewer touchdowns and fewer first downs. More interceptions and more sacks. Stroud acknowledged he did not play well in the loss to the Ravens.
“I just kept missing. I wasn’t making throws,” Stroud said.
With the Texans locked into the No. 4 seed in the AFC, they have some time to regroup for the playoffs. When they need Stroud to be a whole lot better.