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C.J. Stroud Gives Blunt Assessment of His Performance in Blowout Loss to Ravens

Stroud took accountability for his play in an embarrassing loss to the Ravens.

Eva Geitheim

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
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The Houston Texans' season-long offensive woes came to a head on Wednesday as the unit failed to score a single point in a 31-2 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens. The Texans' offense has looked nowhere near as efficient as it did a season ago, and under the Christmas Day spotlight against another AFC playoff team, the Texans' struggles became exposed on the national stage for the second straight week.

The Texans were outmatched by the Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs in two straight weeks, teams the Texans hoped to compete with this season. The season has proven especially disappointing for second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who hasn't been able to carry the team the way he did a season ago. Against the Ravens, Stroud threw for 185 yards and an interception, and could not bring the Texans into scoring position for the first time in his career.

“Probably one of my worst games of my whole career, came out flat, didn’t have any energy, just didn’t lead the offense the way I should’ve," Stroud told the media after the game. "Always gotta look myself in the mirror & be honest w/ myself. Just not good enough today.”

Their performance was so poor, that the team was booed off the by field by the home crowd.

Stroud has not improved off an incredible rookie season for the 2023 No. 2 overall pick. After leading the Texans from the worst team in the NFL to the AFC divisional round of the playoffs last year, the Texans re-loaded during the offseason by adding players like running back Joe Mixon, wide receiver Stefon Diggs, and defensive end Danielle Hunter. With Diggs and Tank Dell suffering devastating injuries, the offensive line allowing 14 more sacks, and Bobby Slowik no longer out-scheming opponents, the Texans' offseason plans have proven lackluster and Stroud's statistics have regressed in nearly every category.

The Texans will still go on to the playoffs largely thanks to a strong start to the season and playing in a weak AFC South, but it's hard to see them making a deeper run than they did a season ago with the current flaws of the team.

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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