How Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud believes he ‘can be a game-changer,’ DeMeco Ryans wants him to ‘cut it loose’

ARLINGTON – His vision is clear, as are his goals and intentions. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud sees the game of football organically and his brand of introspective leadership has brought him into a space of understanding of what must be done for a course correction of a season in danger of slipping away, and a talented team that hasn’t reached its potential for multiple reasons.

As a team captain and vocal leader who seeks out feedback from teammates and coaches, the former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year is determined to breathe life into a stagnant offense that’s been on life support over the past month with substandard performances and a drought in second halves. Yes, there have been zero touchdowns in the second half since backup running back Dameon Pierce’s score in the fourth quarter of an Oct. 13 blowout victory over the New England Patriots for a span of four games and eight quarters.

Despite the recent shortcomings during a two-game losing streak that are impacted heavily by shoddy pass protection as Stroud has been sacked 34 times for the second-most in the NFL behind Chicago Bears rookie Caleb Williams’ 38 sacks, two head-scratching interceptions in a Sunday night loss to the Detroit Lions as the Texans were involved in an epic collapse as they squandered a halftime lead and were outscored 19-0 in the second half, and Stroud uncharacteristically missing open reads, throwing off his back foot on occasion and not making the kind of sound decisions he did as a rookie, the 23-year-old California native is confident that he can engineer a turnaround. And that starts with himself, with his accountability and confidence.

“I am not only a game manager, but I can also be a game-changer,” Stroud said. “Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t. For me, I am going to keep the swag and kind of like what I told you all last year. Steph Curry can go 0-for-whatever, but he is going to keep shooting. That’s me, I am going to keep shooting. I trust in myself and trust in the talent God gave me.”

During the last five games, Stroud has completed just 85 of 152 passes for 986 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. For the season, he has 2,371 yards, 12 touchdowns and six interceptions for a season-long pace of 4,031 yards, 20 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

That’s far below the gold standard the former Heisman Trophy finalist and second overall pick from Ohio State established as one of the top rookies in NFL history as he joined an exclusive statistical fraternity of Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only quarterbacks to ever lead the league in passing yards per contest and touchdown-to-interception ratio in the same season.

Stroud is having important conversations behind the scenes, including a recent one with veteran tight end Dalton Schultz about how to right the ship.

“One of the biggest things too is that my teammates trust me,” Stroud said. “Me and Dalton talked the other day, and he has the utmost respect in me, and I have the utmost respect in him. I needed to hear that. The team rides behind me and they still want me to be at the helm and love me through the thick and then thin. It feels good to still have the backs of my teammates and I still go out there on Sundays and do what I need to do to win the game.”

Stroud completed just 11 of 31 passes for 191 yards and no touchdowns in an embarrassing road loss to the New York Jets, a team that snapped a four-game losing streak at the Texans’ expense. He had a career-low 36.7 completion percentage.

Against the Lions, Stroud completed 19 of 33 passes for 232 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for a 64.2 passer rating. In the second half, though, when the game was being decided, Stroud was intercepted twice and completed just 5 of 13 passes for 68 yards.

He hasn’t had multiple touchdowns in four consecutive games with just one game over 250 yards during that span.

He completed 10 of 21 passes for a career-low 86 yards with no scores against the Green Bay Packers as he was outdueled by quarterback Jordan Love.

This season, Stroud has completed just 30 percent of his deep balls after completing 56 percent of those type of throws as a rookie.

What’s the solution?

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans has an idea, and a wish for Stroud. Be aggressive. Have fun. Go out there and get after it. Be the quarterback the Texans believe he is and can be.

“I’d like to see C.J. just go out and cut it loose,” Ryans said. “A lot has probably said about the miscues of what C.J. is doing, but C.J. has done a lot of great things for our team throughout this entire year. Full, complete trust in C.J.. Let him go out and rip it, cut it loose, play fast, play fun.

“Man, C.J. is why we are where we are right now. We’re sitting in a really good spot because of him and he’s an exceptional talent. I love working with C.J.. I love his mindset and I’m looking for him to come out and attack this game.”

Stroud’s average pass attempt, though, is a yard less downfield than his rookie season with fewer completion and nearly double the interception rate.

Stroud doesn’t seem to have regressed much, if at all, but his circumstances have taken a huge step backward.

Just ask the man who calls the plays for the Texans’ struggling offense.

“I think C.J., honestly, I think he’s doing a heck of a job, I really do,” Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik said. “I think he’s taken his game from last year and I think he’s grown even more. And there’s always this process that you go through. You roll out there as a young guy, you’re just playing ball. The center snaps you the ball, everything moves really fast. You’re like, ‘What’s happening? I’m looking over here, let me throw it over here.’ And then all of a sudden, the game starts slowing down a little bit and you start to take in more information and you still can also go just play ball and then eventually, the game slows down so much, you kind of start to see everything that’s going on. And the first time that starts to happen, it’s almost information overload. It’s like, ‘Man, I see this, this, this and this.’ But you’ve still got to go execute your small responsibility within that. And then the hardest part at quarterback is that any given moment with all that going on, you can play a spectacular game and in the most critical third down of the game, you could make one mistake and all of a sudden you played terribly because you threw an interception.

“There’s just a lot of weight on that, that he does a phenomenal job embracing, taking ownership of and I really think he’s gone through the process now where the game has slowed down for him. And he’s been able to really recalibrate his rhythm. And, for two weeks there, we had some issues where I don’t even know if his back foot could hit. So, being able to still weather the storm when that happens while also still trying to operate in rhythm, that’s a massive challenge. It hurts when you get hit. That’s something, I think, he really has embraced. We’re doing everything we can to make sure he’s as clean as possible because when he’s as clean as possible, he’s going to get the ball out where we want it to go, when we want it to go there. And he will be aggressive when he does it., which is why he’s so good.”

Despite the uptick in running success with the arrival of former Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon, the offense looks broken under the direction of Slowik. A popular head coaching candidate last offseason, Slowik’s play-calling has been much more predictable this season.

A lot of this is a symptom of the offensive line not making the pocket a safe space for Stroud. He’s in danger in the backfield because there’s so much interior pressure, especially against right guard Shaq Mason.

While the pass blocking got better, the run blocking took a large step backwards against the Lions. It was a clear regression as the line couldn’t get a lot of push to create holes and allowed a lot of interior penetration into the backfield to squeeze running plays with nine tackles for losses. The Texans rushed for just 56 yards on 28 carries as Mixon’s four-game streak of 100-yard performances came to a screeching halt. He gained just 46 yards on 25 carries, averaging 1.8 yards per run. Except for how he trucked a defensive back on his eight-yard touchdown run, the running game was stonewalled.

“I feel like the change was good,” said Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who’s the highest graded pass blocker on the defending AFC South champions’ line. “I feel like we played solid upfront. The run game wasn’t as good as we expected. I feel like we took a step in the passing game, but we can always be better.”

Over the past four games, the Texans have lost three times. During that span, Stroud has completed just 53.7 percent of his throws for 794 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

With the healthy return of star wide receiver Nico Collins, the NFL receiving yardage leader before a hamstring pull suffered on a touchdown catch against the Buffalo Bills that cost him the past five games, the Texans’ dormant offense could become explosive again. A 6-foot-4, 222 pounds with 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash, crisp routes and great hands, Collins represents a matchup nightmare. That should make up for Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs’ season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament as Stroud leans on Collins and Tank Dell as his top options downfield.

“He brings a seriousness, an intent, a discipline, a mindset that we ask for from everybody,” Stroud said. “I believe he has that personality where he wants the hard coverage guy. He wants the hard routes to run, he wants to make the hard plays. When he gets the ball, he is dangerous. He is able to turn good into great. He runs guys over, he does all these things. DeMeco definitely loves that. He is the guy built for it, body-wise. He turns the whole team up, from the defense, to me, to [WR] Tank, he gets everybody juiced up to play hard and I definitely feel like we have been missing that. It is great to have him back.”

Sacked 18 times in the past four games after being sacked just 16 times in the first six games of the season, Stroud is more than ready for a positive change, as is the entire locker room and coaching staff.

“This is a long journey,” said Kimberly Stroud, Stroud’s mother, during a community event this week. “It started a very long time ago with my son. It really is hard sometimes to hear the negativity because I know my son’s heart. He just loves Houston. He loves the Texans. He just wants to do the best for them.”

And Stroud is ready for the responsibility and the mantle of leadership that goes with having the top spot, of being QB1.

“You are either the hero or the zero,” Stroud said. “I have lived this out before. God was preparing me then for moments like this and now I am prepared. It is all about how you respond. I am very excited for this week. Great opportunity, time and time again. Ready to roll with me teammates and have fun. It is all about how you respond.”

Read more on the Texans:

• ‘Amazing human being,’ C.J. Stroud, foundation give back to Houston area families with gift cards and more at H-E-B
• How Texans’ line shuffle created mixed results: ‘The frustration is high because we should have won that football game’
• Texans defensive tackle Mario Edwards Jr. suspension lifted by NFL after serving four-game punishment
• Sources: Texans re-signing cornerback D’Angelo Ross, Cam Erving to practice squad, release Desmond King, David Sharpe
• How a costly missed field goal and a rare high snap led to Texans’ loss to Lions
• Texans corner Kamari Lassiter ruled out with concussion, defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi with foot injury
• ‘I’ve been embraced, everything about my identity’: How Texans team captain Joe Mixon leads through words and actions
• Texans’ defense faces difficult challenge against Lions’ ‘good connection’ of Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown
• How C.J. Stroud believes a ‘wakeup call’ is happening with Texans and a need to ‘get back to having fun’
• How ‘dynamic’ Texans RB Joe Mixon joined Arian Foster, Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith in statistical benchmarks in epic season
• Source: Texans signing guard Tremayne Anchrum Jr. to practice squad
• Texans designate corner Jeff Okudah, defensive end Jerry Hughes for return from injured reserve
• Source: Texans worked out linemen La’el Collins, Tremayne Anchrum Jr, Ike Boettger, Jerome Carvin, DB Jason Taylor
• Texans rookie Jamal Hill honored by official proclamation in Georgia hometown
• Texans’ Kenyon Green dislocated left shoulder, to be placed on IR, Kendrick Green steps in, Will Anderson Jr. ankle hurt
• ‘I know I have to step up, I know I have shoes to fill,’ Texans’ Tank Dell in spotlight after Stefon Diggs’ torn ACL
• Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr. is the AFC Defensive Player of the Month
• ‘I’m just trying to be that light as much as I can,’ Texans nickel Jalen Pitre nabs first interception since rookie year

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