HOUSTON – Instead of prolific touchdown passes and long gains, the Texans’ passing game has sputtered in recent games.
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud expressed frustration at the downward trend after passing for a season-low 140 yards in a 15-13 loss to the Carolina Panthers, calling for a more explosive passing game.
And the leading NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate is looking to jumpstart the deep passing game Sunday at NRG Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their aggressive, blitz-centric defense.
As the Texans adjust to how defenses adapt to their playbook, they’re aware of the increased difficulty for the NFL’s 18th-ranked passing game. The Texans had their lowest scoring total since the opening game against the Baltimore Ravens, a 25-9 road defeat and are averaging 21.1 points per contest.
It has been going in the wrong direction, though in recent weeks.
“As the year goes on, I feel like it gets a little harder,” Stroud said. “But if it was easy, everybody would do it. And that’s just something I keep in mind. The trials and tribulations, the hard losses, whatever you want to name, it prepares you for things that come in the long run.
“This is an accountability-based business. And I think everybody is looking in the mirror like, ‘How can we fix these issues and do things the right way?’ And we’re excited to get that done.”
The Buccaneers, on a three-game losing streak, have an unpredictable defense that brings pressure from all directions, including blitzes with safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and linebacker Devin White in addition to a pocket-busting presence from standout nose tackle Vita Vea as he leads the defense with 3 1/2 sacks. Vea is a massive interior defensive lineman at 6-foot-4, 347 pounds.
To beat the Buccaneers, the Texans need to beat the blitz.
“When the pressures are so varied, it’s hard to get a beat on when they’re doing what they’re doing,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “If you try to focus in on what they’re doing, you won’t be able to figure it out in the game, right? So, you just have to do what we do well. As things come, you can’t be surprised because there may be a corner blitzing, a safety, a linebacker – anybody can blitz at any time. We just have to be aware that things can change, the picture can change on us, and we have to be ready to adapt as that picture changes.”
Stroud leads all NFL rookies with 1,800 passing yards and has nine touchdowns and just one interception.
Since passing for 306 yards in a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Stroud has passed for 249 yards in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons, 199 yards on a season-low 48.1 completion percentage against the New Orleans Saints in a loss and nosedived to 140 passing yards against Carolina.
The Buccaneers have a stout defense, so this represents a test for the Texans.
Stroud passed for 384 yards and two touchdowns in the second game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts.
Lately, though, the Texans are settling for shorter passes on checkdowns. There have been some missed deep throws, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik noted. There have also been defenses, like the Panthers’ deep shell scheme, intended to limit Stroud’s output.
“Man, I definitely think we have the talent to be explosive, and I think we’ve shown that we’re, if not a top five offense, a top 10 offense; we’ve showed it, and we can do it,” Stroud said. “We’ve just got to go out there and call it and run it and execute. I feel like that’s why we haven’t been consistent. Too many taking the ball short and not having enough explosives.”
Arguably Stroud’s top throws a week ago were a 22-yard strike to wide receiver Noah Brown and a 31-yard pass to Brown. Those were his longest throws as Stroud misfired on a deep throw to wide receiver Nico Collins.
There were also three passes batted away at the line of scrimmage by the Panthers.
“Every week, we’re striving for explosive plays,” Slowik said. “We’ve done a pretty good job of it most of the year. I’d say we struggled early on just taking advantage of some explosive opportunities. Last week for sure, we had some opportunities there that we didn’t finish, we didn’t quite take advantage of.
“We had some deep balls there that we missed that were explosive opportunities. There were some others that we felt pretty good about the looks we were thrown into, and they knocked them down. When you can’t take advantages of the looks you want, that’s obviously going to limit the amount of chunk plays you have.”
The Texans, overall, are an effective passing game. They have 27 completions of 20 yards or higher, earning a ranking of 10th overall in that category. Stroud averages 5.8 yards per completion.
Lately, though, it’s headed in the wrong direction.
There is no disconnect between Stroud and the coaches. They want the same things.
“They are right on board,” Stroud said. “I think Bobby has done a great job of doing things like that. And half of that, we’ve got to get our running game together. You can’t do it without running the ball, so we’ve got to be able to run the ball better, but at the same time, we’re really special in a lot of areas, too. And Bobby and DeMeco are the first people to stand up and say that. And I know, that’s the thing about this league, you can’t let one game define who people think we are.
“Like, you all might have an idea, but we’re the players, you know what I’m saying? They’re the coaches. We’re going to figure it out as the Texans. So, I don’t think it was really taken to heart from anybody, and they know how much I want this, and as a team, they know how bad we want to be successful
Stroud set an NFL record with 191 passes without an interception to start his NFL career.
Stroud passed for 242, 384, 280 and 306 yards in the first four games of the season. In the past three games, he’s passed for 249, 199 and 140 yards.
Is the NFL adapting to Stroud and the Texans’ offense. Perhaps they are.
“I think with any quarterback, especially young quarterbacks, defenses continue to game plan and get more film on him, you see what guys do well, and you switch your game plan accordingly to put the quarterback in difficult spots,” Ryans said. “Just have to keep growing, keep learning. We’re going to see a lot of different things. C.J. will do well with it. He’ll handle it well. He’ll bounce back.”
Despite the setback to a previously winless team and dropping to 3-4 overall, Stroud is upbeat about the Texans’ outlook heading into next Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“What’s the point of holding your head down?” Stroud said. “Of course you’re not happy about it, but we’re not that type of team that’s just going to tuck our tail and not have swag and confidence no more just because we took a L.
“I feel like we showed our potential, and we’re going to keep doing it. I think next week is really big for us. I think we have Tampa Bay, and that’s a really good defense and a good challenge for us. We’ve got to go back to work and practice really good. I think now we’ve got the bye week jitters out, and now it’s time to play some real ball.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.