‘One of the best passers in the league’: How Texans rookie CJ Stroud is an x-factor in playoff matchup against Browns

HOUSTON – C.J. Stroud arrived in Houston with a vision of building an immediate winner. He had no interest or acceptance of being part of a rebuilding project that could take years to create a competitive football team.

In a group text with fellow rookies after the draft, the second overall pick and two-time Heisman finalist from Ohio State made his agenda crystal clear. Months before leading the Texans to an AFC South division title and their first playoff berth since the 2019 season, the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year frontrunner was already setting the standard.

• READ MORE: It’s game day, Houston and KPRC 2 is your home for coverage of the Texans Wild Card playoff matchup 🏈📺

“It was just us, the rookies, and we were like, ‘Man, we’re going to be the foundation that changes this thing around,’ and lo and behold, that’s kind of what came to be true,” Stroud said. “It’s been cool just to see some of the things we talked about come to fruition.”

Stroud, 22, is not only playing the best of any rookie quarterback. He’s playing as well as any quarterback in the league. In the regular season, Stroud passed for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions for a passer rating of 100.8.

He’s the third player in NFL history to lead the NFL in passing yards per game and touchdown-interception ratio in the same season, joining an exclusive fraternity with Tom Brady and Joe Montana.

Now, Stroud represents the greatest X-factor in Saturday’s AFC wild-card playoff game against the Cleveland Browns. Stroud was sidelined for a 36-22 Texans loss on Christmas Eve due to a concussion suffered against the New York Jets.

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Since his return, Stroud has led the Texans to consecutive victories that set a path to the postseason. He was pinpoint accurate in a 23-19 primetime win last Saturday over the Indianapolis Colts, completing 20 of 26 passes for 264 yards with two touchdowns and a 134.1 passer rating. He became the fifth rookie in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards.

“C.J. doesn’t surprise me,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We talked about it earlier in the week with C.J. being special in these big-time moments when you need it most, to step up and make plays. He’s done it time after time throughout the entire year. It’s not surprising. That’s who he is. He’s one of the best passers in this league. And he shows it consistently, game in and game out.”

From the Browns’ standpoint, defending Stroud is altogether difference than their matchup against Texans backups Case Keenum and Davis Mills. They combined for 26 of 49 passing for 178 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and were sacked three times in the loss to the Browns.

Stroud is a game-changing presence. He hasn’t thrown an interception since an uncharacteristic three interceptions in a win over the Arizona Cardinals.

“He’s awesome,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I remember watching him early because we had some crossover tape and getting ready to play Baltimore. That was his first game, and I think even in that game, you saw some plays and some throws where you knew right away that kid was really, really talented.”

Stroud set an NFL record by starting his career with 192 pass attempts without an interception. He wasn’t picked off until the sixth game in a win over the New Orleans Saints.

The Browns have a talented, top-ranked defense led by star defensive end Myles Garrett. They have an elite group of corners in Denzel Ward, Greg Newsome II and Martin Emerson. They have combined for eight interceptions. The Browns rank first in total defense and passing defense.

“I think when it’s all said and done, the fact that he’s passed for as many yards as he has without turning the ball over is really impressive for a young guy,” Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Usually, the cost of doing business if you’re going to throw for a lot of yards is you also turn the ball over a lot. It’s been impressive what he’s been able to do. We’re going to have to play tight coverage. We’re going to have to stay after him in the pass rush.”

Stroud squares off against the Browns’ deep defense across from 38 year-old quarterback Joe Flacco, the strong-armed former Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl MVP who has led Cleveland into the playoffs as the injury replacement for Deshaun Watson. Flacco celebrates his 39th birthday next week. He is the oldest quarterback in the playoffs and has gone 4-1 as the starter. Flacco quarterbacked his first playoff game in 2009 when Stroud was eight years old.

Ryans turned 39 this year, and joked that Flacco is young, not old.

Flacco has won seven playoff games on the road, tying him with Tom Brady for the most in league history.

“It’s impressive that Joe is still operating at a high level,” Ryans said. “There is no let-up in the arm strength, the decision making, it’s all still elite, at a high level. So, it is impressive to see a guy as young as he is making plays, but he’s the reason why that team is in the position they’re in right now, because he has that experience, he’s been there before, and I know that those guys believe in him.”

The Texans’ defense, after allowing Flacco to pass for 368 yards and three touchdowns on Dec. 24 at NRG Stadium, have to face him again. They allowed Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper to set a franchise record with 265 receiving yards on 11 receptions. In that game, Texans corner Steven Nelson was in and out of the lineup with a foot injury and safety Jimmie Ward left the game with a season-ending injury. Communication was rocky, and Texans safety and team captain Jalen Pitre was benched in the second half. He has since regained his starting job and the secondary has played well since that game.

“I think the biggest thing is focusing on our execution,” Pitre said. “Communication and continuity, each week we’re getting to know each other a little more. You can talk a lot in two weeks. You can bond a lot in two weeks. We’ve corrected a lot in two weeks.”

Plus, defensive ends Jonathan Greenard injured his ankle in that game and Will Anderson Jr. was out with a high ankle sprain. Both are expected to play against the Browns on Sunday.

“I’m excited, really excited,” Greenard said. “We’ve got a huge opportunity. Felt pretty good. Saturday going to be good to go. Very essential to this game (pressuring Flacco), Amari Cooper had 200-plus, that’s what we’re trying to affect the quarterback so that doesn’t happen.

“It’s a playoff game. They’re going to make plays. We’re going to make plays. We expect a hard-fought, physical game. I’m excited to get out on the field with my boys again.”

As for Stroud, he leads the NFL with a 73.9 quarterback rating against zone defense. He ranks 27th in the NFL against man coverage with a 38.8 quarterback rating.

The Browns will try to take away the big play, like Stroud’s 75-yard bomb to wide receiver Nico Collins against the Colts.

“Yeah, they’re a great team,” Stroud said. “I’m excited for this matchup again. They’re the No. 1 defense for a reason. They do a lot of special things. It starts upfront. Of course, Myles Garrett is one of the best players to ever play this game. He proves that week in and week out.

“Their linebackers do a great job. On the back end, they do a good job of having sticky coverage, and things like that, so just got to be on our ‘A-game’ and execute at a high level. I’m excited for that matchup.”

Stroud is back from his injury. And Collins is looking forward to playing against the Browns after being out for that game with a strained calf.

“It’s big-time,” Collins said. “You don’t want to have none of your brothers missing out. For him to be back, it’s a great feeling for the team, for the organization. The dude is special. It’s going to be a great day. It’s here. It’s a blessing.

“We won the division, so we’re in the playoffs. It can’t get better than that. This opportunity to have fun, this is what we’ve been grinding for. Leave it all out there. We’ve been grinding for a long time for this moment. You don’t want to let it go through your fingers.”

From Stroud’s standpoint, pressure situations are embraced. He has shown he’s up for these kind of games with the right competitive mettle. He’s ultra-focused.

Since his arrival in Houston, Stroud has galvanized the locker room and manufactured a potent passing attack.

“It’s been cool,” Stroud said. “It’s been a long, long year for me, a lot of ups and downs. A lot of growing, a lot of learning – not only as a football player, but as a man and as a person. I’m truly just grateful and blessed to be in the position I am. I’ll probably start reminiscing whenever February comes around or whenever our season ends. We’ll see. I’m blessed though, and I’m really appreciative of everything that’s happened to me this year.”

When Stroud first got to Houston, he had a meeting with Ryans in his office. At the time, Ryans was going over a Bible scripture about remaining steadfast that resonated with Stroud.

He and Ryans are the first rookie quarterback and head coach combination in NFL history to win a division title.

“We have really similar mindsets I feel of how bad we want to win, how hard we work, the focus that we know it takes to win games,” Stroud said. “We come from winning cultures and winning teams, so really it was up to us to get this team going. And it’s not just on us, but we’re two type of people that we’re going to put pressure on ourselves just to make sure things get done, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I appreciate him because he holds me to a standard and I know I hold him to one, but he’s always met that standard.

“He’s a very positive person. One thing about just being in a locker room, in a team room for the men, you can sniff out when someone’s not being real, and he’s just not a negative person. That’s not who he is. There’s not one point that I’ve seen DeMeco really, really negative. Of course there’s times where he’s mad and he’s not happy with the standard or what we put out on the field, or whatever. He holds everybody accountable, but at the same time, he does it in his way – not trying to force being the mad guy or angry guy. But when he needs to yell, put his foot down, he does. You know it’s real when he does that. It’s cool to see a coach be real all the time.”

Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com