C.J. Stroud, in a short span of time as the clock ticked down and the pressure built, held several fast and meaningful conversations with his teammates on a day where the Texans’ ultra-mature and accurate rookie quarterback made NFL history.
Before Stroud manufactured an epic game-winning drive to cap the most prolific passing day by a rookie quarterback ever in the league, he approached veteran defensive end Jonathan Greenard.
Walking off the field to the sideline, Greenard was wearing a look of disappointment after the Texans’ defense allowed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to score a go-ahead touchdown on a Baker Mayfield pass to tight end Cade Otton. Stroud reassured Greenard that he had it all under control.
“Every time I walk off the field and I’m not feeling the best, I know the look, and he had that look,” Stroud said. “I made him stop, made him look me in my eyes, and I said, ‘Hey, bro, I’ve got you.’”
Before Stroud marched the Texans six plays and 75 yards in 40 seconds and delivered the game-winning touchdown pass to rookie wide receiver Tank Dell, he confidently called his shot in the huddle.
“When they scored, he said, ‘All right, boys, we got plenty of time. We’re going to go down and score and win this game,’” offensive guard Tytus Howard said. “We broke the huddle, and we won the game. It’s confidence. He’s always the same person no matter what. He’s always going to be the same guy. He’s a leader. He’s a leader at heart.”
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Stroud completed five passes on the final drive to manufacture a raucous 39-37 victory. He connected twice with tight end Dalton Schultz to position the offense. Arguably, his most impressive throw was a perfectly placed spiral to Dell on a 26-yard throw and Dell dragged his cleats inbounds to the Buccaneers’ 15-yard line.
One play later, Stroud threw a strike to Dell over the middle on a short post route to put the game away.
“Honestly, I was just trying to stay calm, cool and collected, one play at a time,” Stroud said. “I told those boys up front: ‘Y’all just give me a little time, I’m going to make them pay.’”
Stroud passed for 470 yards, breaking Marc Bulger’s record of 453 yards in 2002 for the most passing yards by an NFL rookie quarterback. His five touchdown passes makes him one of six rookie quarterbacks going back to 1937 to hit that milestone, joining Ray Buivid, Daniel Jones, Matthew Stafford, Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston. He’s just the third quarterback to throw for at least 470 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions in a single game, joining Ben Roethleisberger and Y.A. Title.
“C.J., he’s different, man,” said Dell, who caught five passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns and has formed a close friendship with the second overall pick and two-time Heisman Trophy finalist since the NFL scouting combine. “He told us to stay poised and be ready. So, that’s what we did. Stay ready and we executed.
“Calm, that’s the big word for him. He didn’t panic, but we knew that about him. He’s done that before.”
In the second half, Stroud completed 15 of 19 passes for 313 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions for a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Texans trailed 17-10 at halftime, and Stroud had completed just 14 of 22 passes for 145 yards and one touchdown.
He caught fire in the second half and delivered one of the best performances by a quarterback ever.
The Texans broke tendencies, throwing more frequently on first down. Stroud completed 16 of 19 passes on first down for 298 yards and four touchdowns.
Stroud is the first rookie to pass for at least 470 yards and five touchdowns. Stroud had the highest NextGen statistical mark by any quarterback this season with a 96 rating.
“Dawg, been said that,” Texans Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil said. “Baller. Composed, confident. You know he’s going to get it done. We put our trust in him and, look, that’s a W. Very special.”
Eight games into the season for the 4-4 playoff contender Texans one year after they finished 3-13-1, Stroud has passed for 2,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and one interception. He’s on pace to finish the season with 4,824 yards, 30 touchdowns and two interceptions.
“It’s a gutsy performance from him,” said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, who gave Stroud a game ball he held as he walked down the hallway at NRG Stadium with his mother and his family. “It wasn’t all clean, but he gutted it out. He was tough in the pocket, made some plays, made some big-time throws for us, and the receivers, they were reliable for him. They made those catches, they made tough catches, made big plays for us, so it was all those guys working together, but, C.JIt was a very gutsy performance by him.”
It was a dramatic turnaround by Stroud and the offense one week after a season-low 140 passing yards and no touchdown passes for just the second time this season. They were coming off a 15-13 loss to the previously winless Carolina Panthers and Stroud’s production and the offense was lacking in explosive plays.
Not on Sunday, though. Stroud completed 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets to Schultz.
He found a streaking Noah Brown for a 75-yard touchdown pass, tying Michael Pittman Jr. for the longest touchdown reception of the season as the former Ohio State wide receiver had a career-high 153 yards on six catches.
And he threw another touchdown pass to Nico Collins.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, a first-year play-caller, put a lot of faith in Stroud to assume control of the offense and connect on deep shots. Slowik called a play the Texans hadn’t run since training camp.
“You want to have the coaches’ trust,” Stroud said. “Bobby was looking for us to answer the bell after we should have done way better against the Panthers, and he did a great job. He told me, ‘This game, you’ve got to go make plays. Be special. You’re a special player. Go be special.’ He put the ball in my hand, and I appreciate that because it’s not always the most comfortable thing to do with a rookie quarterback
“Honestly, they haven’t been treating me like a rookie quarterback. They’ve been putting a lot on my plate, and I feel like I’m trying to handle it as best I can and work really hard to get the looks down, get the cans, alerts, everything. I really appreciate Bobby trusting us and going out there and making plays. So, shout-out to Bobby, called a great game.”
Stroud averaged 9.8 yards per passing attempt. The Texans converted just 3 of 11 third downs, but Stroud was paid on first downs.
“C.J. Stroud doesn’t look like a rookie to me,” Mayfield said. “That guy, he’s so impressive. Looks like a polished NFL quarterback. So, hats off to him. He played extremely, extremely well.”
In the huddle, on the sideline and in the locker room, Stroud was simply unflappable. He’s an unusually precocious rookie quarterback.
“He was poised, never wavered, locked in,” running back Devin Singletary said. “He had that killer instinct in his eyes. I could tell he had that leadership vibe to him. He keeps growing into that role and keeps proving why he should be the guy he is. That boy is the truth.”
The Texans hadn’t won in the final minute after trailing since the final game of last season when Stroud’s current backup, Davis Mills, threw a game-winning touchdown pass and two-point conversion to tight end Jordan Akins to beat the Indianapolis Colts. That win cost the Texans the top overall pick and the chance to draft Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. Instead, they wound up with Stroud. And tight end Brevin Jordan told KPRC 2 earlier this season that victory was the best thing to ever happen to the Texans organization.
On the final drive, Stroud completed passes of 14 yards, six yards, 14 yards and 26 yards before his touchdown pass to Dell.
The route and throw were perfect.
“His job was to beat the corner, and the Texans win,” Stroud said. “That drive, man, it was special. ..
“I just want the ball. Give me the ball, call the play and I’m going to make a play.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790