HOUSTON – As a rookie, C.J. Stroud rarely threw an interception and was one of the most precise passers in the game.
The Texans’ Pro Bowl quarterback began his career with a record-setting 192 consecutive pass attempts without an interception for the most by a player to start his career. He also led the NFL in passing yards per game and had the best touchdown-to-interception ration, 4.60, joining Joe Montana and Tom Brady as the only players in NFL history to finish first in both categories in the same season. He was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
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Against the Dallas Cowboys during a 34-10 victory, Stroud threw his seventh interception of the season. There’s been an uptick in interceptions lately with three in November so far with one touchdown pass on 42 of 67 passing for 489 yards and a 71.1 passer rating. Overall, Stroud has passed for 2,628 yards and 12 touchdowns after finishing his rookie year with 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions with a 100.8 passer rating and led the Texans to an AFC South division title.
Against the Cowboys, Stroud threw a high pass intended for wide receiver Nico Collins that was picked off by Cowboys safety Malik Hooker.
“I’m moving on, bro,” Stroud said Wednesday. “That was a good question to ask me on Monday. Try to anticipate it. I thought it was a great read. My coaches did as well, just missed it a couple inches high.”
Stroud emphasized that he’s unfazed by the interception and won’t let that affect his playing style.
He is tied for 12th in the NFL in interceptions and had two interceptions in the second half in an epic collapse of a loss to the Detroit Lions two games ago. Stroud had no interceptions in games against the New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts and Green Bay Packers. His 257 passing yards on 23 of 34 accuracy against Dallas was his highest yardage total since his 285 yards against the Colts and highest completion percentage over the past five games.
“Shooters have to shoot,” Stroud said. “You live by the sword you die by the sword. So, I am just going to continue to play and throw anticipation, throw no-looks, I am going to be me, I am going to have fun. If it means I have to throw more picks to get us to win, it is what it is. Our coaches trust me and I believe that I’m able to make some really good reads and also be able to check it down when I need to or make the smart play. So, I don’t think it’s just all of a sudden, ‘C.J. is throwing picks’, now I am doing the same things I have been doing.”
'Shooters keep shooting' #Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud doesn't let interceptions like Monday faze him or change his approach @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/2yJEPuCAcL
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) November 20, 2024
In two NFL seasons, Stroud has had a lot of success and established himself as one of the league’s top quarterbacks.
He has passed for 6,736 career yards on 63.7 percent accuracy for 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
How Stroud deals with success and failure has allowed him to keep growing.
“I’ll say failure, failing time and time and time again,” said Stroud, a former second overall pick and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist from Ohio State. “It hasn’t just been in the NFL, but from the time I have been seven years old. Learning from my failures, learning from my mistakes, learning from things that I need to fix, and just fix those things. I believe anything working for in life is hard, and for me, ball has been something that the Lord has blessed me with, the natural talent, natural kind of thought process to understand the game and understand movement and to be blessed with that skill.
“So, I honestly would say, just learning from my failures, have been the reason why I can see it so well now. There is not a time in the game where, honestly, I’ve thrown a pick or on a completion touchdown where I didn’t see the coverage or didn’t see a blitz or something happening. I more times than not, know what’s going on. That is a testament to my coaches who helped me prepare, my preparation on my own, my teammates, calling things out.”
The Texans face a 2-8 Tennessee Titans team on Sunday at NRG Stadium. Although the Titans have been struggling, they do have the NFL’s second-ranked overall defense and are first against the pass. Their defense is led by standout defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and heavyweight nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat. Safety Amani Hooker leads the Titans with three interceptions. Titans corner L’Jarius Sneed is out for this game.
“Very talented,” Stroud said. “They have a really good defense, and they have put it on film. They are almost top ten in every category that we go over, on days like today. They are number one on third down and they have a lot of playmakers. Jeffery Simmons is a great player. It’s going to be a challenge for us.”
Against the Cowboys, the Texans scored their first second-half offensive touchdown since Oct. 13 when backup running back Dameon Pierce scored on a touchdown run against the New England Patriots.
Pass protection improved against the Cowboys with Stroud only sacked once. He has been sacked 35 times this season after only being sacked 38 times as a rookie overall. The shift of center Juice Scruggs to left guard and inserting Jarrett Patterson to center worked better against Dallas.
“Yeah, I think it’s been great. I think we only had like one miscue between us three, or really just me and J-Pat,” Stroud said. “I believe that is what was best for the team, and I love Juice’s mindset with that. He’s playing really well at center, but we needed somebody at guard, and he raised his hand to be a volunteer. Just shows the type of guy he is. J-Pat, to be coming in off of a concussion and to be playing really well is amazing. A lot of respect for those two.”
And having star wide receiver Nico Collins back from a hamstring injury provided a definite boost to the offense.
Collins had a 77-yard touchdown pass called back, but he finished with four catches for 54 yards.
“I definitely felt his presence out there,” Stroud said. “He was able to score on the first play. It was brought back, but that just shows what type of player he is. You can see they played a little more shell coverage in the second half. We were able to still withstand and just be smart, taking the checkdowns, moving the ball down the field, and letting Joe [Mixon] run the ball like he should. So, his presence was felt. I think he will continue to be great for us and help everybody around be him be better.”
Read more on the Texans:
- Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.
