Notebook: C.J. Stroud Leads Houston Texans To Miracle Comeback vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud had a record-setting outing on the same day that his running back teammate kicked a field goal, but those weren't the only storylines of the game.

A week after suffering a second heartbreaking loss by means of a last-second field goal, the Houston Texans returned home to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a battle for .500. 

With a win, Houston would equalize its record, but with a loss, they'd fall one game further below the neutral mark — and even further out of AFC South contention. 

Standing in its way, however, was a Tampa Bay squad looking for the exact same thing in the NFC. Neither team wanted to lose, but in the end, it was the Texans who came out victorious — despite rather unusual circumstances — taking the game 39-37.

C.J. Stroud played a large role in that, but he wasn't the game's only storyline. And now that Houston is back at .500, it can look ahead to its road trip to Cincinnati with a winning record at the forefront of its mind. But it'll also be looking to clean some things up. 

So, that being said. Here are three takeaways from Houston's home victory: 

Nov. 5, 2023: Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) tries to re-gain balance during a play against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

1) C.J. Stroud. That's It.

We've heard it before: C.J. Stroud is the next big Texans quarterback. C.J. Stroud is an Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate. C.J. Stroud is good.

Sunday was no exception, but at the same time, it stuck out from his other performances. Majorly. By the end of the Texans' victory, the rookie quarterback had not only put on a show but thrown for a career-high and an NFL record for rookies in a single game. Stroud finished with 470 yards on 30-42 passing and five touchdowns.

We've heard it before because we've seen it before.

Stroud out-threw all of his previous performances, but that wasn't anything new. The Texans rookie has been a bright spot for Houston all season long, consistently finding his targets with minimal turnovers.

Still, Stroud had as close to a perfect game as you could imagine Sunday.

With his back against the wall and less than a minute on the clock, Stroud took to the field alongside the rest of his offense. Houston was down by four points and for the first time of the game, it didn't matter that it didn't have a kicker. It needed a touchdown.

So, Stroud made it happen. Six plays, 75 yards, and a touchdown later, he was taking a knee on the Texans' fourth two-point conversion of the game. Houston then sealed the deal with a quick defensive stop, and they captured the game.

And Stroud was the catalyst, the closer, and the captain. 

2) No Kicker, Some Problems

After kicking a 50-field goal in the second quarter to bring the Texans within one score of the visiting Buccaneers, Houston's Ka'imi Fairbairn left the game with an injury and did not return. 

As a result, Texans running back Dare Ogunbowal earned a new responsibility. 

The seventh-year veteran, who's only notched a pair of carries this season with Houston, was nominated to fill in for the injured Fairbairn, including placekicking and field goals. To start, he boomed a 65-yard kickoff at the start of the second half, which was returned to the Buccaneers' 27-yard line. Not bad for a non-kicker. 

Except "not bad" isn't perfect.

As Houston continued to fight its way back into the lead with touchdown drives, coach DeMeco Ryans elected to go for two-point conversions instead of sending out Ogunbowal on each of them. The first two were unsuccessful, as Stroud couldn't connect with Andrew Beck or Tank Dell, but the third finally succeeded when the quarterback kept it himself. Either way, Houston lost out on points without Fairbairn.

But Ogunbowal wasn't just going to fill on kickoffs, so finally, with the game knotted at 30 points apiece, Houston elected to send the running back out for a field goal try. 

The Texans needed the points to re-take the lead, and Ogunbowal didn't disappoint. He nailed a 29-yard field goal to give Houston the lead and make himself the first non-kicker to make a field goal since Wes Welker in 2004. 

So, Houston's running back experiment seemed to work out well enough, but it isn't a long-term solution. All but one of Ogunbowal's kickoffs came up well short of the end zone, allowing Buccaneers returns, and going for two after every touchdown isn't a recipe for success. However the Texans elect to address their kicker issue — whether it be Fairbairn returning, signing a free agent, or simply training Ogunbowal — they will need to figure it out. 

Luckily, it didn't bite them on Sunday.

3) Rushing Woes

While Ogunbowal was busy setting records as an interim kicker, the rest of the Texans' running backs were doing a lot less. 

On the afternoon, Houston rushed for a combined 53 yards without Dameon Pierce, though production through the run was arguably not really needed given the kind of day Stroud had. 

Either way, finding little to no success on the ground was slightly concerning. 

The Buccaneers defense had a good day on that front, holding the Texans to their third-worst rushing performance of the season — though second place is just one yard less. Opening up the run game is certainly something that Houston will focus on as it continues down its campaign, though having a crutch like Stroud is encouraging.

The Texans' outing against the Buccaneers wasn't perfect. But that's to be expected. The biggest thing for DeMeco Ryans' squad was that it came away victorious.