Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud exited M&T Bank Stadium devastated for the second time in his short career. Saturday night, a 34-10 AFC Divisional Round defeat by the Baltimore Ravens marked the end of the Houston Texans’ 2023 season.
“Kind of a fail,” he termed it.
Stroud looked far from the presumed Offensive Rookie of the Year in the loss. He completed 57.6 percent of his passes for 175 yards. It also marked the second time Stroud failed to throw a passing touchdown — his first came during the Texans’ season-opening loss to the same team on Sept. 10.
The Ravens survived two meetings against the Texans where they did not experience the best version of Stroud, but his subpar performances in Baltimore do not indicate the success of his first season at the helm in Houston.
“C.J. did a great job throughout the entire year — I’m proud of him,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Proud of his resolve and his confidence throughout the entire year. He was the guy breaking our team down. He’s the leader of our team. …
“An awesome young man. The sky is the limit for him and what he can do in his career.”
Stroud revitalized the Texans in his first season. He led the franchise to their first playoff appearance since 2019, which started as a farfetched dream. However, the faith the players and coaching staff had in Stroud instilled a belief that Houston had a realistic chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
The Texans had been on a quarterback carousel since Deshaun Watson demanded a trade in January 2021.
Three quarterbacks started in place of Watson since his abrupt departure. Houston gave Davis Mills a chance to prove his worth as Watson’s successor, but a deficient sophomore season ruined his chances.
Changing Houston’s culture wasn’t an easy feat. But midway through the season, Stroud saw his confidence and winning mentality coincide with his teammates, coaching staff and fans.
“Where I come from in college, if you don’t win it all, then it’s kind of a fail – that’s kind of like the mindset I have,” Stroud said. ” I think we have the capability. We have the team to do it. We’ve come up short, so we can’t look back and [say] like, ‘Dang, we didn’t do [anything] special’. You’ve got to look back and smile through everything.
“But at the same time, it’s like, ‘Dang, dang man. What if?’ That’s the worst feeling – just having regrets. ‘What if I did this? What if I did that?’ – just learning experiences.”
A second-round exit marks the end of a stellar rookie season that features Stroud on the trajectory of greatness. He finishes his first season ranked third all-time for the most passing yards by a rookie quarterback (4,108) while finishing with 23 passing touchdowns and five interceptions.
After falling to the Ravens during his NFL debut, Stroud averaged 276.1 yards for the rest of the season, including five games of throwing over 300 yards. His best came during the Texans’ 39-37 victory against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He went 30 of 42 for 470 yards and five touchdowns to lead a comeback victory inside NRG Stadium.
The success Stroud experienced during his rookie season started with a disappointing Week 1 performance against the Ravens. Four months later, Stroud returned to the same stadium where he began to lay the groundwork for his career.
Stroud described his rookie season as the “longest year” of his life. But a second defeat to the Ravens has the 22-year-old quarterback motivated to quickly begin constructing the foundation for a more promising sophomore season.
“I have been through a lot of ups and downs on the field and off the field,” Stroud said. “I’m just super, super blessed through everything. … Pressure is a privilege, and it’s hard to stand up here. It may seem easy, but it’s hard.
“I think the foundation we set is a hard one built on a rock like DeMeco always talks about. I’m going to continue to work my tail off next year to make the city of Houston proud, to make my family members proud and make God proud.”
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