Louis Riddick sets the record straight on CJ Stroud's Texans debut
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
11 August 2023
Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud made his NFL debut on Thursday night against the New England Patriots in Foxborough.
Houston won the game 20-9, but the big story of the night was all about how Stroud looked in the two series he played in his first preseason game.
Louis Riddick discusses the interception Stroud threw on 3rd and long, and shares his thoughts on what he learned about the Texans rookie in his first NFL action.
A lot of people are going to make a big deal about the sack and the pick, but it's hard to come to any significant conclusions based on just four throws.
Harry Douglas also makes a good point when mentioned that Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik also made his debut as an OC. If he had it to do over again, Slowik probably should have told Stroud to take the check down and not force anything on 3 and 21.
Plus, Douglas adds that the first year in the Shanahan system is a “juggernaut” for any quarterback. Veteran or rookie.
Be sure to watch the video above as Louis Riddick and the First Take crew share their takeaways from Stroud's performance.
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Marcus Semien hit his 250th career home run and Adolis García also went deep to back up a strong start by Nathan Eovaldi and give the Texas Rangers a 5-1, series clinching victory over the Houston Astros on Sunday.
Eovaldi (7-3) limited Houston to five hits and a run with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings for his third straight win.
Houston starter Hunter Brown (9-4) allowed five hits and four runs while striking out eight in five innings as the AL West leaders lost for the fifth time in six games. It was the second straight tough outing for the All-Star, who gave up a season-high six runs in his last start against Cleveland.
Wyatt Langford walked to open the second and the Rangers made it 1-0 when he scored on a triple by Evan Carter. There were two outs in the inning when Carter scored on a ground-rule double by Ezequiel Duran to push the lead to 2-0.García’s third homer in the last four games put Texas ahead 3-0 with two outs in the third inning.
Carter doubled to start the fourth and Kyle Higashioka singled before Carter scored on a sacrifice fly by Alejandro Osuna to make it 4-0.
The Astros cut it to 4-1 on a home run by Zack Short with no outs in the sixth inning.
Semien’s shot with one out in the eighth inning was his second of the series and gave him 250 in his 13-year career.
Key moment
Texas jumping on Brown for two runs in the second inning to take the lead for good.
Key stat
García’s 20 home runs against the Astros since 2021 are the most of any player in that span.
Up next
The Astros open the second half of the season Friday night at Seattle, and the Rangers host Detroit on the same night.
