C.J.

Stroud

Stroud started hot while the game remained close but took a back seat to Joe Mixon in the second half as the Texans played with a substantial lead. Two first half touchdowns by Mixon were added to in the fourth quarter, accounting for all three offensive scores on the evening. Stroud did have a touchdown wiped off the board due to penalty after Nico Collins took the first play from scrimmage to the house, only to be backed up by an ineligible man downfield. Either way, Stroud guided the Texans to a much needed win after dropping three of their previous four, enough to keep a two-game lead on the Colts in the AFC South. The Texans turn their attention to the 2-8 Titans in Week 12.

Stroud and the rest of the Texans could do no wrong in the first half, taking a commanding 23-7 lead into the break. Their defense turned in five interceptions off Detroit quarterback Jared Goff, but they found no room on offense in the second half while being shutout in the final two frames. A missed field goal with under two minutes remaining gave the Lions excellent field position in a tied game, which gave them enough time and room to maneuver into field goal range to kick the winning points as time expired. The Texans became the first team since the 2021 Cardinals to register five interceptions and lose the game, falling to 6-4 and squandering an opportunity to take a commanding three-game lead in the division with only seven games yet to play. The Texans will look to regain the magic they had in the first half when they travel to Dallas to face the struggling Cowboys on Monday Night Football in Week 11.

Stroud lost a fumble inside the red zone on a sack in the first quarter. He didn’t turn the football over from that point on, but it’s fair to say this was not his best game. Some of that is not the 23-year-old’s fault; Stroud took eight sacks behind the woeful Houston offensive line, and he also was without star wideouts Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. Much of it was absolutely his wrongdoing, however, as he missed on several throws and took some sacks that were a case of him not throwing the football away. The talent is immense, but Stroud has had growing pains in 2024. He’ll look to rebound with a (hopefully) healthier arsenal against the Lions in Week 10.

He took only two sacks this week, but Stroud remained consistently under pressure when the Texans didn’t have him working with a moving pocket. A late 28-yard, second-and-19 conversion out of structure to John Metchie showed that Stroud still has it, but the ecosystem around him is in rough shape between the offensive line and a sudden rash of receiver injuries. A late Stroud pitch-turned-fumble got stuck on to his ledger for good measure, making what looked like an easy closeout for the Texans a little more stressful than it needed to be. Stroud’s likely just a high-end QB2 for fantasy purposes against the Jets on Thursday night.

It was a war zone for Stroud, as Packers DC Jeff Hafley pantsed the Texans pass protection early and often with sim pressures, often getting heat on Stroud despite sending just four. With Quay Walker’s injury shifting the game into Joe Mixon’s hands, Stroud took merely four sacks instead of the seven or eight he could have had to go with this Daniel Jones-esque stat line. We’d like to say Stroud will rebound next week against the Colts, but Houston’s pass protection has officially become enough of a problem that you now have to factor in a lower ceiling for Stroud — he might be more of a low-end QB1 or high-end QB2 at this point for fantasy purposes.

He was pulled early as the Texans sat their starters in the game’s final five minutes, if you were worried about the Davis Mills stats in the box score. Stroud’s one interception hit Dalton Schultz’s hands in the end zone and popped up into the hands of Marcus Jones. It was one of four pass attempts over 20 yards on the day that Stroud had as the Texans jumped out to an early 14-0 lead and were never really threatened. Things get a little bit harder for the second-year star next week as the Texans head to Green Bay. Stroud should easily remain on the QB1 line in that game.

He added 27 rushing yards on the ground. The Texans struggled to move the ball late in the game without Nico Collins, as Stroud was picked off deep in Buffalo territory, fumbled deep in Texans territory, and was called for an intentional grounding that pushed the Texans out of field goal range in the fourth quarter. Stroud managed a key five-yard pass on the final drive of the game to give Ka’imi Fairbairn enough space to drill a winning field goal. It wasn’t a pretty game for fantasy managers, but Stroud should remain on the QB1 line for Week 6’s matchup against the Patriots.

He added 17 rushing yards. After the entire Texans offense took a penalty-enforced hibernation for much of the second half, Stroud came alive and led a nine-play, 69-yard touchdown drive to take a 24-20 lead with 18 seconds left in the game. The Jaguars mostly kept Stroud from targeting them deep, but he completed 12-of-15 passes for 181 yards and a score in the middle of the field. Stroud will be on the QB1 line once again in Week 5, even with a daunting matchup against the Bills.

Stroud, like most quarterbacks to face Brian Flores’ maddening Vikings defense, was confused and off balance throughout. Stroud took four sacks and was pressured on almost every dropback before the Vikings took a commanding lead in the second half. Stroud appeared to tweak his back on a fourth quarter sack but remained in the game. Week 3 marks the second straight game in which Stroud has struggled. He’ll look to bounce back in Week 4 against the Jaguars.

Stroud locked onto alpha wide receiver Nico Collins in this one, feeding the youngster 10 targets on his 36 pass attempts, while no other pass-catcher saw more than six looks. The two maintain an elite connection on the field following Collins’ breakout campaign in 2023. Even so, the offense largely struggled outside of Collins, gaining just 310 total yards of offense against a stingy Chicago defense. Either way, the Texans escaped with their second consecutive win to start the season and now turn their attention to another tough defense in the Vikings in Week 3.