Stroud: A Beacon of Hope in a Hopeless Franchise
Holding two records in his rookie season, C.J. Stroud has definitely had a positive impact on the Houston Texans, a franchise that’s been struggling ever since the 2013 season. They’ve only gone downhill since then, especially since J.J. Watt’s departure in 2020 and Deshaun Watsons sexual harassment allegations in 2021, rendering him unavaliable during the 2021 season.
We were forced to rotate backup QB’s, giving us an absolutely remarkable 4–13 season and leading to Watson’s trade in 2022.
Ever since then, the team has been a dumpster fire rolling in the path of stampeding defensive linemen waiting to pummel whoever the fill-in QB is.
And then we got Stroud.
Stroud was a beast in college. Playing for Ohio State, he has the second-most passing yards in OSU history with 8,123 in 830 career pass attempts and the second-most TD passes in OSU history with 85 touchdown passes in 830 pass attempts, both records sitting behind J.T. Barrett.
However, Stroud holds a OSU record for most passing yards in a single game. Stroud is the only Ohio State QB with more than 500 yards in a game, recording 573 passing yards, six touchdowns and an interception against Utah in the 2022 Rose Bowl.
All in all, Stroud was outstanding at Ohio State, but that’s college ball, and the NFL is, well, a whole different ballgame…
Drafted by the Texans as the 2nd overall pick (the highest ever for a OSU quarterback[) in the 2023 NFL Draft brought some attention to the shadowed team. Doubts were cast, with many thinking he “played too much like a college player,” but “had potential to be a great NFL quarterback.”
Stroud began the 2023 season with 2 losses and 1 win, dropping about 300 yards a game. People began to realize that he was still a college player, and played like one, but maybe there was hope?
At the time of writing, the Texans stand at a 5–4 record for the 2023 season. Not amazing, but a hell of a lot better than previous years. The Houston QB set the NFL record for most passing yards in a single game with 470yd worth of completions, surpassing Andrew Luck’s previous record of 433 yards.
Stroud also became just the third QB in NFL history to throw for at least 470 yards and five touchdowns without an interception, putting him in the spotlight and highlighting him as one of the top QB’s going into Week 11.
According to Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report, Stroud “has to keep proving himself more and more as defenses gain more tape and better game plan for what he brings to the table, but there’s no denying Stroud has already become an elite quarterback.” He has an astonishing 15:2 TD to pick ratio, and “he ranks second to only Purdy with 4.8 completed air yards per attempt.”
Stroud is looking good going into the November 19th game against the Cardinals, and will face the 3rd worst defense in the league, not much a challenge for a scrappy young quarterback who plays like he’s still in college ball, and it works. Expect to see some quick sneaks and tight TD passes. The Texans are set to win at home this Sunday, and we may see some light work from the offense, some easy tosses for TD’s and whatnot.
