BALTIMORE -- C.J. Stroud frequently delivered the football with zip, accuracy and timing Sunday albeit in a losing cause, especially on his intermediate throws to wide receivers Nico Collins and Robert Woods.
And the Texans’ rookie quarterback displayed poise, composure and an unflappable, competitive personality during his NFL debut despite being under heavy duress from a talented Baltimore Ravens team, a returning playoff squad.
Factoring in his relative inexperience, the fact that he operated behind a makeshift offensive line that struggled mightily to protect him as he was sacked five times and hit 10 times overall and that the Ravens were heavily favored, Stroud manufactured a respectable, albeit unspectacular performance that provided legitimate reasons for encouragement and earned praise from his older teammates.
As the Texans’ newly-minted QB1, the 21-year-old California native and team captain, was a leader for the rebuilding Texans.
“Damn proud of him, damn good,” Texans running back Dameon Pierce said. “I just wish that we could have done things as an offense to make it cleaner for him, but, given the situation he was put in, I feel like he handled it very well, with poise. I’m ready to see him develop. ..
“He did damn good in my eyes. Given the looks he was given, he stayed calm, stayed poised. We got a quarterback and a few nickels.”
While the Texans absorbed a 25-9 defeat at M&T Bank Stadium, Stroud showed his toughness as he absorbed some crushing hits from blitzing linebackers Patrick Queen and Roquan Smith and defensive end Ofade Oweh. He took care of the football for the most part, losing one fumble.
He completed 28 of 44 passes for 244 yards, no touchdowns and, most importantly, no interceptions despite a lackluster running game and playing behind an injury-riddled offensive line playing without three regular starters.
“I think he did well,” Pro Bowl left offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil said. “There’s a couple of things he can clean up, but that’s everybody. There’s always going to be growing pains, but that’s going to come for a rookie quarterback. I thought he handled himself well. There’s always room to improve.”
In the bigger picture for a Texans organization that has gone 11-38-1 over the previous three seasons, having a talented quarterback for the first time since three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Deshaun Watson could be a game-changer in accelerating their construction project as a franchise.
“I know he’s a competitor,” left guard Josh Jones said. “He wants to win.”
Stroud had a stellar career with the Buckeyes, passing for 8,123 yards with 85 touchdowns and just 12 interceptions as the Buckeyes went 21-4 during his two seasons as the starter. He broke Drew Brees’ two-year record for touchdown passes. He lost just one road game, a 49-34 loss to Michigan in his first season as the starter.
“That guy, he’s going to be a great quarterback coming up,” Queen said. “It’s just tough coming up here against us as a rookie. So, that’s what we do.”
While it wasn’t a smooth game for the offense overall and the Texans (0-1) were outscored 17-3 in the second half after trailing 7-6 at halftime, Stroud took it all in stride.
“It’s part of my job,” Stroud said. “Honestly, I could have done better. Just answering the bell, the next drive, the next play and just making more plays. I always just think that being negative is not going to help. Just being a light on the team or being the cool, calm and collected one could help a lot.
“Because that is my job of being a quarterback. Keeping everybody even-keel and trying to go to the next play as best we can. We can’t go back and get any plays. I try to do my best. Of course, I think, I can do better.”
Stroud lost just one road game in two seasons at Ohio State, and the two-time Heisman Trophy finalist thrived in difficult situations, including a playoff loss last season to the eventual national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
The Texans could have done more to help him, including some plays that didn’t work or appear to have a decent chance from the jump. The Texans had 18 first downs, went 7 of 18 on third downs, 1 of 4 on fourth downs and were penalized nine times for 88 yards. They went 0 for 2 on two red-zone opportunities.
“Offensively, we have to have a clean operation,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It wasn’t clean enough on the offense. We wanted to have a clean procedure. It wasn’t, so we have things to clean up, things to fix, and a lot to learn from out of this game.”
“For his first time out, C.J., it was a tough place to play, a tough opponent. A lot of things were stacked up against him, but I thought he handled himself well.”
Stroud wasn’t intimidated and he was undaunted despite all of the hits he took.
There were times when he could have gotten rid of the football and took more punishment than he needed to.
“Just keep fighting, I’m going to keep getting up,” Stroud said. “This ain’t my first time getting hit. I’m just going to keep harping on those guys to keep going harder. I’m going to go hard for them.
“I appreciate them just hanging in there with me and fighting their tails off because I felt that. It wasn’t like they were just giving up. But I have to get the ball out, if that is the case, and make better reads. So, it is a two-way street.”
Stroud rushed for 20 yards on four carries. He showed a willingness and ability to run and improvise on the fly.
“He came out and did his thing,” said Collins, who caught six passes for 80 yards on 11 targets. “It’s a long season. We’ve got his back. He was good. He played a great game.”
The Texans’ offense unraveled in the second half. On drive charts to begin the third quarter, they had a punt, a turnover on downs and a punt while the Ravens were scoring touchdowns. They built a 22-6 advantage that sealed the game. The Texans didn’t answer until kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn’s third field goal of the game earlyin the fourth quarter.
“When we come out in the second half, we have to be able to move the ball, and that’s where we started to stutter,” Ryans said. “We kind of hurt ourselves a lot. We can’t hurt ourselves versus a good team. The Ravens are a good team.
“They played good ball. We can’t help a good team, and that’s what we did today. We helped a good team, and you’re not going to win games in the league like that.”
When right tackle George Fant, the replacement with Tytus Howard on injured reserve as he continues to recover from hand surgery, suffered a right shoulder stinger, the Texans inserted offensive guard Michael Deiter at right tackle. He allowed a strip sack to David Ojabo and the fumble was recovered by Michael Pierce.
“I think he was tough as (expletive,” right guard Shaq Mason said. “Absolutely, we can build on that. He tried to make the plays that came to him. Obviously, we have to do a better job. I think we can build on his toughness and poise and keep stacking.”
Stroud was accountable about his mistakes. He didn’t point fingers. He took everything on his shouders.
“Got to be just better overall, I have to make more plays,” Stroud said. “I don’t think we did anything super great. I do think we shot ourselves in the foot a lot and didn’t give ourselves a winning chance.’
And Stroud is striking a balance between being aggressive and playing it safe. It’s a work in progress, but that was to be expected.
“It’s growing,” Stroud said. “I definitely could have thrown it away a couple of times. I am out there playing ball, it’s not like I’m trying to ruin the game. I’m just trying to make a play.
“If I make the play, I am a hero. If I don’t, I am zero. I’ll take both. It is what it is. I know what I can do on the field. I know I am going to make those plays eventually.”
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
Photo: Patrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images