HOUSTON – Every offensive play starts with the basics: the fundamentals of the center snapping the football back to the quarterback.
That routine operation suddenly became a problem, though, for the Texans during a playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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That issue, uncharacteristic off-target snaps from center Jake Andrews and fumbles from usually steady quarterback C.J. Stroud, arose at an inopportune time. Although the Texans still earned a 30-6 victory, five fumbles, three from snaps, two on quarterback hits, and interception thrown behind Xavier Hutchinson, that’s all being addressed by Stroud and Andrews.
“We’ll go about it the way we always have, but it’ll be extra attentive on that,” Stroud said. “So, it’s good that we learn from it, move on and fix the issue and keep it going.”
The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year managed to help his team pull off the win despite major ball security issues in arguably one of the roughest games of his career.
Stroud joined former New York Giants Super Bowl winner Eli Manning as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to fumble five times with an interception and still win the game. Manning did that two decades ago, and Stroud did so Monday night.
The Texans overcame three turnovers from Stroud as they won their 10th consecutive game and the first road playoff victory in franchise history.
“It’s just got to kind of be second nature to us,” said Andrews, who didn’t have snapping issues during the regular season. “Past is past, it’s behind us now, I think we’ve got to handle it. It’s something that you never want to happen. And when it does, you just kind of have to correct it. I think we’ve done that, so hopefully it’s better.”
Stroud dropped three of Andrews’ snaps with two looking slightly away from the desired target area. One more was dropped by Stroud clearly. He had another snap ricochet off his chest when the football arrived prior to him looking set in the pocket. Timing was obviously way off between Stroud and Andrews.
“No changes,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We are making sure we’re aware of what’s going on and making sure we handle it the right way. I know C.J. and Jake, they’ll do a great job of being on that this week and I think no one feels [worse] about that than C.J. I know he’ll get that corrected, get it fixed, and he’ll be ready to roll this week.”
Despite the problems that he experienced or created himself, Stroud didn’t get rattled.
Veteran Texans offensive lineman Tytus Howard said the third-year passer stayed focused.
“C.J. was poised all game,” Texans left guard Tytus Howard said. “Whenever stuff wasn’t going his way, he was still poised. We just encouraged him and let him know we got his back. We just never wavered. We knew eventually we were going to have a breakthrough and it ended up happening for us there.”
Stroud had three turnovers in the Texans’ opening six drives. Both of his fumbles happened when he was in the pocket looking to throw. The interception was in the red zone, also while under heavy duress.
Now, Stroud is working to address the issues and make corrections as the Texans prepare for an AFC divisional round showdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
Stroud completed 21 of 32 passes for 250 yards and threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk, connecting with him eight times for 144 yards and nine targets. Stroud was sharp in the red zone. He rallied in the second half and had no turnovers after the interception, going 5 for 9 for 100 yards after that pick.
The Texans went 10 for 15 on third downs, including a 46-yard completion to Kirk that led to a Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal.
Yes, there has been plenty of criticism on social media and regular media. Stroud takes that as a matter of course. He doesn’t let it faze him.
“I’ve learned a quote: ‘Don’t love the love, don’t hate the hate,’” Stroud said. “Things are up and down throughout your life, your career, whatever it is. I think that’s how life works in general. But especially in the position I’m in, everything is criticized and everything is talked about. So, I’ve learned to stay what’s important to me. That’s my faith, my family and then my teammates and then myself, how I view myself.
“Through failures and successes in this game from the time I’ve been 16 with somewhat of a public eye and when I went to Ohio State, same thing. They would love me one week, hate me the next. So, I’m well-equipped with what is going on. I’m excited to play this next game and just keep the same even keel.”
Stroud only threw eight interceptions during the regular season and passed for 3,041 yards and 19 touchdowns. For his career, he has just 25 interceptions along with 63 touchdowns and 10,876 yards.
He’ll keep it moving and concentrate on the next snap, the next audible, the next game.
“I would say taking the plays as they come, flushing the bad and the good, learning from both and just moving forward,” Stroud said. “I think even the game on Monday, got a lot of adversity. Turn the ball over and then next play they’re putting the ball back in my hands and I feel like I answered the bell when my number was called. So, I think it’ll be that again this week and I’ll hopefully take care of the ball better this game. But I think when it comes to adversity, things are going to happen.
“I watched almost all the wild card games since we played the last game. Everybody made mistakes. Everybody had that moment where it was like, ‘Dang, we’re messing this up.’ Then the teams who find a way to fight through that and keep going were the teams that came out on top. So, that’s just playoff football. what I’m learning, is just one play at a time, take the good with the bad and just keep rolling.”
Although it was a difficult night for Stroud in many respects, his resiliency impressed his teammates. It definitely didn’t surprise them to see Stroud avoid a total meltdown.
“We have the ultimate faith in C.J.,” All-Pro defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. “There’s not a time that we look at a game like, ‘Man, nah.’ We’re all in this together. It’s not just the defensive side of the ball, it’s not just the offensive side of the ball, it’s not just special teams.
“We’re collectively one team and when we go out there and play, we’re one team. We just have each other’s back. They come off the field, we dap them up and say: ‘Man, we got your back.’ If we mess up they do the same for us. It’s just everybody being one.”
Several players approached Stroud on the sidelines after a bad play and encouraged him to stay the course.
That was heartwarming to Stroud, a former Pro Bowl selection.
Stroud said one of his favorite things about the Texans is the way every player holds themselves accountable, including coming up to him after a mistake and saying what they could have done better on the play. Then, there’s the unanimous support he seems to have from his teammates.
“I think it’s dope,” Stroud said. “I think it’s amazing for those guys to keep faith and trust in me. I have faith and trust in myself. I learn from my mistakes and try to move on. I know what things I need to get fixed, but I think I had a good game. I’ve just got to clean those things up. For those guys always keeping me uplifted it’s really helpful.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com