How Texans, CJ Stroud find themselves in rare air after hammering Steelers
TEXANS ON TAP
02 October
The Houston Texans were coming off a big win against the Jags last week, with the Steelers coming to NRG on the same day JJ Watt was being inducted into the Texans Ring of Honor.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans wanted to make sure that his team didn't allow the Steelers to come into the Texans' house and have their way. Houston hadn't won a home game since 2021, so this was the perfect opportunity to prove this season is different.
With a newly shuffled offensive line, CJ Stroud and the Texans dominated Pittsburgh from jump street, scoring three times on the first drive, with penalties taking the first two scores off the board. Immediately, this felt like a new and improved Texans team that wasn't going to settle for field goals.
In the end, the Steelers never really had a chance, losing the game 30-6. Stroud built on his streak of completions without throwing an interception once again. He also made history, passing for 1,212 yards in his first four games. Only Cam Newton passed for more yards than Stroud with 1,386 over his first four games.
The progress we're seeing from the Texans' new QB is something special to behold. Behind an offensive line full of backups, Stroud has come away with 2 victories, no interceptions, and no sacks over the last two weeks.
NBA superstar LeBron James even posted about Stroud's accomplishments on social media over the weekend.
pic.twitter.com/Ml6yj1Hi1S
— Rex (@Rexwell14) October 2, 2023
And the news gets even better. The Texans are likely to get several offensive linemen back off the IR this week, with Tytus Howard and Juice Scruggs expected to return to action.
The future looks bright
One thing is for sure, the Texans have the best rookie QB in the league right now. And don't be surprised if he outplays all the QBs that face the Texans over the next few weeks. Give us Stroud any day over Desmond Ridder, a beat up Derek Carr, Bryce Young, and Baker Mayfield.
We didn't expect the turnaround to be this quick for Houston, but winning the division appears to be a real possibility with every team sitting at 2-2.
Be sure to watch the video above as we react to the big win on Sunday, look ahead at the Falcons, and much more.
Don't miss our new Texans podcast that drops every Monday on the SportsMap Texans YouTube channel.
How Texans' CJ Stroud got the last laugh on Panthers entire organization
Nov 30, 2023, 4:56 pm
When Bryce Young and CJ Stroud were drafted with the first two picks of the NFL Draft, we knew they would be compared to one another for years to come.
And here we are just 11 games into the season and one quarterback has already seen his head coach fired. Panthers owner David Tepper spoke to the media on Wednesday and discussed his decision to fire Frank Reich, and also set the record straight on how they arrived at the decision to draft Young.
In so many words, Tepper basically blamed the Texans for how the top of the draft played out. He mentioned Stroud by name and said the Panthers were ready to draft him at No. 2 overall until the Texans backed out of the three-team trade with the Bears.
Tepper made a point of saying everyone in their building had Bryce Young as the top player on their draft board, despite rumors about Frank Reich preferring Stroud.
CJ Stroud and the Texans have been so much better than Bryce Young and the Panthers that Tepper clearly felt it was necessary to defend himself, and the decisions he's made for the organization.
In the end, the person that gets the worst end of the deal is Bryce Young. Coaching changes can be very difficult on young quarterbacks. And it looks like he'll have to learn a new offense in his second year when the Panthers hire a new coaching staff.
How fortunate we are as Texans fans to have DeMeco Ryans and CJ Stroud leading the team moving forward.
With all of this in mind, is there a reason Texans fans haven't fully bought in to the new-look Texans? JJ Watt was a guest on The Pat McAfee Show this week and was asked about the team's inability to fill the stadium on Sundays.
As a former player for the Colts, McAfee always thought Houston had the loudest and best fans in the NFL. And while the Texans are 9th in attendance this year according to ESPN, even CJ Stroud has asked for the fans to fill the stadium.
So there is something to it. You can see the empty seats in photos. So why aren't the Texans packing NRG with a shiny new franchise QB?
We believe the recent history of the team is why fans are slowly coming back. McAfee wasn't here for:
Bill O'Brien cussing at fans during games
Trading DeAndre Hopkins away for next to nothing
The Jack Easterby disaster
Deshaun Watson allegedly blaming ownership for why he wanted out
The Deshaun Watson scandal
Firing back-to-back coaches after one season, and the list goes on.
Don't miss the video above for the full conversation!
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