HOUSTON – Rifling passes with strong-armed precision and accuracy, calmly operating the offense with uncommon poise, Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is making history.
And Stroud, off to an NFL record-setting start since being drafted second overall out of Ohio State, is making a convincing argument on several fronts as a leading NFL OFfensive Rookie of the Year candidate as the top performing quarterback in this draft class.
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Beyond the statistical prowess, Stroud is emerging as a viable upper echelon quarterback as one of the top passers in the league regardless of experience. And how Stroud is playing is paying dividends in terms of victories. On Sunday, Stroud led the Texans to a dominant 30-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC South franchise’s first home regular-season since a Dec. 26, 2021 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
Four games into his NFL career, the 21-year-old native of Rancho Cucamonga, California has passed for 1,212 yards for the second-most yards by a quarterback during first four games during that span as he passed Andrew Luck (1,208), Justin Herbert (1,195) and Patrick Mahomes (1,180) and Marc Bulger (1,149).
Stroud boosted his NFL all-time record of 151 passes without an interception. He has passed for six touchdowns, zero interceptions, an average of eight yards per attempt and achieved a 100.7 passer rating.
“I think it’s really cool when you see your work pay off a little bit, but, for me, it’s just the beginning,” Stroud said. “I still think I left a lot out on the field. Could have played better in the red zone. For me, of course, I always want to snip that in the bud and get back to work. It definitely does feel good to work really hard and see it pay off. For me it’s just the beginning, and I’m super blessed.”
#Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud who has passed for 1,210 yards, six touchdowns and thrown NFL record 151 passes without an interception to start his career @KPRC2 @CJ7STROUD pic.twitter.com/AfbwxQWl25
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 1, 2023
Against the Steelers’ traditionally stout defense, Stroud passed for 306 yards and threw a pair of touchdown passes to wide receiver Nico Collins. Collins and Stroud connected for seven receptions for a career-high 168 receiving yards on nine targets. Their collaboration has been on point between the two former Big Ten Conference standouts.
“We already knew he had that it factor since we drafted him,” said Collins, an imposing former University of Michigan player and Texans third-round draft pick. “It’s the reason he has that C on his chest, man. We’re going to have his back 100 percent of the way. It’s only going to get better for him. The sky is the limit for him. Dude can ball. We’re going to keep climbing and keep shocking the world and having fun.”
Only Cam Newton passed for more yards during his first four games than Stroud. Newton had 1,386 yards for the Carolina Panthers in 2011.
For the Texans to have gone that long without a home win with their closest shot a year ago a season-opening overtime tie with the Indianapolis Colts i n the opening game of last season, that’s a sad state of affairs that struck a chord with Stroud. The two-time Heisman Trophy finalist grew accustomed to winning with the Buckeyes. He has no plans of getting used to losing in the NFL.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a long time: ‘Y’all deserve to feel special, y’all deserve to root the Texans on,” Stroud said. “Not winning since 2021, I think it was around Christmas, that is not flying for anybody in this building. I want them to know we’re fighting our tails off every day to make sure y’all walk around with Texans gear pride, y’all walk around with that swag that we walk around with when we get a W.
“For me I take that real personal because I don’t like being bagged on my teams. When my Lakers lose, I be pissed. I take that stuff real serious, man. It’s up to us to work every day and put the work in. You’ve seen, those Steelers fans came and showed out today in our stadium, and we sent them home. I think our fans felt the energy, ‘Man, we aren’t playing today from the get-go.’ It’s a blessing to be able to be in Houston, a great town with a lot of stuff to do, great people, Southern hospitality to its finest, and I’m falling in love with the city little by little.”
The Texans hadn’t won by this many points, a 24-point victory, since their 57-14 win over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 1, 2017. That was when the Texans were quarterbacked by three-time Pro Bowl selection Deshaun Watson, who was traded to the Cleveland Browns.
Stroud is now the first rookie since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 to pass for at least 250 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in three consecutive games.
“Dude is ballin’,” Collins said. “The work he puts in every day, you can tell. It shows up in prime time and it’s only going to get better for him.”
Stroud completed 16 of 30 passes against the Steelers. He’s trusted to throw often by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. This isn’t a game manager situation. Stroud is counted upon to win football games.
Stroud’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Collins was a work of art, finding him in stride with a perfect throw.
The last quarterbacks to throw for 300 yards twice as rookies were the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Chargers’ Justin Herbert in 2020.
Stoud ranks fourth in the NFL in passing yards behind the Miami Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa (1,306), the Los Angeles Rams’ Matthew Stafford (1,229) and the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins (1,214).
“For me it’s a blessing, but I want to do more,” Stroud said. “I want to be really great at this game. I want to put in the work every week. They’ll love you one week and hate you the next. For me it’s a constant grind, constant build-up throughout the week, and I’m getting back to my routine, working really, really hard this week to go play a tough, tough Atlanta team.
“It’s a blessing to be able to be playing decently, but, for me, it’s the guys around me. I can’t do anything without those guys balling out. You see the yards after catch and the guys straining up front, me getting the ball out, trying to get the ball out on time, the running backs doing their job, the tight ends doing their job. Everybody is doing their job. Everybody is playing together, so we have to keep that going.”
And it’s all translating into results. The Texans have won two consecutive games. They could emerge as a surprise contender in the AFC South division.
For Stroud, all of the text messages and support he has received since being drafted, it’s all meaningful as he continues to build relationships with his teammates and coaches on an off the field.
“When those guys hit me up, man, it meant a lot,” Stroud said. “They had nothing but the utmost faith in me and knew that they didn’t draft me for any reason. They tell me that, and they had confidence in me before I even had confidence in myself in this league. That was probably around the time I knew we could be special because if you are in the NFL, you are probably a really good football player, but, when you have guys buying in to do it for one another, that’s when it turns special.
“So, the energy that we’re bringing every day to practice, to pregame, to halftime, to post-game, we’re bringing that swag and that juice that DeMeco talks about, that Texan way of football. We’re starting to show up. We don’t want nobody to think we’re going to be good or bad. We don’t really care. We’re going to do what we do because we’re the man in the arena. For us, man, we just want to prove ourselves right more than prove other people wrong.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.