Texans' C.J. Stroud Falling Short of Expectations

C.J. Stroud hasn't played his best as of late for the Houston Texans.

Jeremy Brener | Nov 27, 2024

Nov 24, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) passes against the Tennessee Titans in the first quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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Houston Texans

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.

“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.

Stick with TexansGameday for more coverage of the Houston Texans throughout the season.

More Houston Texans News

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• Jimmie Ward's Interception Highlights Texans Effort in Loss to Titans

• Why Texans Named Joe Mixon Captain

• Where Are Texans in Playoff Picture After Titans Loss?

Published Nov 27, 2024

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.