Buckeyes C.J. Stroud Struggles vs. Patriots in Debut
The start of former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud's Houston Texans preseason was about as bad as he could've dreaded.
He completed his first pass attempt for eight yards to wide receiver Nico Collins, who trucked a New England Patriots would-be tackler, but that was just one of two completions Stroud would have on the night in his Thursday preseason debut. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and his defense had Stroud uncomfortable with every dropback.
The Texans were down a pair of starting offensive linemen in tackle Tytus Howard and center Scott Quessenberry, and their absences were glaring.
Houston has a 7-3 halftime lead thanks to a connection between No. 2 QB Davis Mills and Tank Dell.
But over the course of the first half, Stroud was sacked for 15 yards, scrambled for four yards, and threw an interception to New England defensive back Jalen Mills to cap off his first-ever drive in the NFL. The Patriots took advantage with a 44-yard Nick Folk field goal — their only score of the first half.
Stroud scrambled around and escaped the pocket much like he did for Ohio State against Georgia in last year's Peach Bowl, but didn't have the same success on the ground he did against the Bulldogs. To conclude drive 2, he was chased in the backfield by a pair of Patriots defensive linemen, rushing back up the middle for two yards, but was stopped short of the line to gain on third-and-4.
One of the more glaring head-scratching moments was on Stroud's second drive when he tried to hit running backs Devin Singletary and Dare Ogunbowale on back-to-back plays, but both fell incomplete. Two plays later, Stroud completed his final pass of the night to wide receiver Steven Sims for five yards.
He was replaced on the next Texans drive by quarterback Mills after going 2-for-4 for 13 yards and an interception. He ran twice for six yards while getting sacked once.
Mills came in afterward and showed signs of a player who had faced NFL defenses before completing 9-of-12 for 99 yards and that touchdown to Tank Dell, who made a juggling circus catch with time winding down in the first half.
His one blemish was a mishandled quarterback-running back exchange that the Patriots recovered near midfield.
Stroud didn't look like the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL, getting welcomed to the league with not-so-welcoming arms.
However, it's hard to expect a rookie to step in and pick apart NFL schemes from the jump. Houston doesn't need to hit the panic button with Stroud.
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