C.J. Stroud hasn’t been at his best for the Houston Texans in recent weeks. Houston is just 2-4 over their past six games and Stroud has five picks in the past three. Compared to five picks during his entire rookie campaign, it’s easy to see why Stroud is suddenly facing criticism.
Watching the games tells a different story, however. While Stroud is the one who has seen his statistics suffer, the Houston offensive line has been the main culprit. They haven’t done enough in pass protection, leading to some hurried throws from the second-year quarterback.
Despite this, Stroud is still someone who can make all the throws necessary to win.
The Jacksonville Jaguars, who will host Houston on Sunday, know this as well as anyone. They’ve seen Stroud at his best, which is why defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen claims he can’t say enough good things about the Houston QB.
”I'm really impressed with this player. He's a very good quarterback and he's a competitor. I think that when you watch the tape, you can feel his energy with the offense and the way he can extend and get off, break tackles and then get out of the pocket. It's extremely impressive [the way he] throws the ball down the field.” — Nielsen on Stroud via Karlie Mossman of Athlon Sports
Coming off their fifth loss of the season, Stroud and the Texans are still in first place in the AFC South but they have to figure out how to stop the bleeding.
They hoped a loss to the New York Jets on Halloween would be the wake up call they needed. That appeared to be the case when they built a huge lead over the Detroit Lions but a second half meltdown led to another loss.
Knocking off the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football seemed to put them back on track, until they were embarrassed by the Tennessee Titans last weekend.
Now, they head to Jacksonville looking for another divisional win before a Week 14 bye allows them a week to prepare for the final stretch.
