Texans' C.J. Stroud Falling Short of Expectations
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was the Rookie of the Year in 2023, but he hasn't played to those high standards in his second season.
In the past six games, the Texans have gone 2-4 and Stroud has more interceptions (5) than touchdowns (4).
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans spoke about the bar that has been set for Stroud and whether or not he is hitting it.
READ MORE: Jon Gruden Includes Houston Texans Star in Recent Rankings List
“For me, when it comes to the bar being set, who sets the bar for someone? There is no higher bar set for coaches and players than the bars we set for ourselves. So, there are no added or external pressures that raise the bar. We have to live up to some expectation. Our expectation is always for our players, our coaches, to continue to grow and continue to get better and that doesn't change," Ryans said of Stroud.
As for Stroud's success, or lack thereof, Ryans is taking a personal responsibility to ensure he gets the most out of his players.
“It’s my job to help all of our guys to make sure, as the head coach, it’s my job is to make sure we’re all locked in," Ryans said. "It’s not just C.J., of course he owns up to his mistakes, but it’s not only C.J., it’s everyone on the entire team. It’s not just him, everybody has their one play here or there that can end up hurting you. But at the end of the day, mistakes happen in football. That’s the game we play. Mistakes happen, teams exploit mistakes sometimes, sometimes they don’t. But it’s about how you finish the game. And we still had an opportunity, there, to finish the game and we didn’t.”
Stroud, Ryans and the Texans will look to bounce back in Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
READ MORE: Best and Worst Graded Houston Texans Defensive Players vs. Tennessee Titans
Stick with TexansGameday for more coverage of the Houston Texans throughout the season.
More Houston Texans News
• Texans Fall to Titans Behind Mistakes, Turnovers
• Jimmie Ward's Interception Highlights Texans Effort in Loss to Titans