Ohio State Buckeyes Ex QB C.J. Stroud Named AFC Offensive Player Of Week
Former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud made history Sunday in a 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Now, he's being honored for his efforts.
Stroud was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, the NFL announced Wednesday. The honor comes after the Houston Texans' rookie record-setting performance in the team’s comeback win over the Buccaneers at NRG Stadium.
The honor marks Stroud’s second significant honor from the league after being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for September.
Drafted second overall last April, Stroud completed 30-of-42 passes (71.4 percent) for 470 yards, five touchdowns, and zero interceptions for a passer rating of 147.8. In the second half, the former Buckeyes star completed 16-of-20 passes for 325 yards, four touchdowns, and a perfect passer rating of 158.3.
With 46 seconds remaining, Stroud drove the team down the field, completing all five passes for 75 yards, including a 26-yard dart to rookie receiver Tank Dell that set up the ensuing 15-yard game-winning touchdown to Dell with six seconds left to complete his first career fourth-quarter comeback and a Texans victory.
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) carries the ball as Baltimore Ravens linebacker Tavius Robinson (95) chases during the second half at M&T Bank Stadium.
“It's a gutsy performance from him. It wasn't all clean, but he gutted it out," said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. "He was tough in the pocket, made some plays, made some big-time throws for us, and the receivers, they were reliable for him. They made those catches, they made tough catches, made big plays for us, so it was all those guys working together."
Stroud's 147.8 passer rating ranks as the highest rating in the NFL by a rookie quarterback with at least 30 pass attempts in a game. He became just the sixth player in NFL history to record at least 450 passing yards and five touchdown passes with no interceptions in a game.
Stroud is the youngest player ever to surpass the 450-yard barrier.
"Momentum is everything in this league and in the game of football," said Stroud Sunday. "We've got to ride this momentum and work really hard in practice this week. We weren't perfect out there, though. We're never going to be perfect, but we've got to clean up some things, got to run the ball a little better. But, I think as you can see, I don't think we can be stopped when we're on our ‘A’ game."
In nine starts, Stroud has completed 62 percent of his pass attempts (173-of-279) for 2,270 yards, 14 touchdowns to just one interception for a 102.9 passer rating. His 14-1 touchdown to interception ratio ranks as the sixth-best mark in league history through the season's first nine weeks.
A two-year starter for the Buckeyes, Stroud completed 69.3 percent of his throws for 8,123 yards, and 85 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. He was a two-time Heisman finalist and led Ohio State to a College Football Playoff appearance in 2022.
Houston and Stroud travel close to Columbus this Sunday to take on the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.