Getty C.J. Stroud turned to his faith after a season-ending loss in Baltimore.
Little went right for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud as his impressive rookie season ended with a thud against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
Stroud still expressed his faith and high hopes for his team next season afterward. He completed 57.6% of his passes for 175 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions in a 34-10 loss to the Ravens.
“First, I want to thank my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. It’s been a heck of a year,” Stroud told reporters on Saturday. “Our future is bright … that’s a great Ravens team over there. They deserve to win. And it’s tough to just, you know, get embarrassed like that, but definitely, I think our future definitely is bright.”
Stroud, who has been vocal about his faith all season, touched on it again in the press conference when asked about disappointments. He put things in perspective in the process.
“I think for me, what I lean on through thick and thin and honestly I’m upset right now [but] I’m really just blessed looking back on this year, this opportunity that we had today, playing in front of millions of people,” Stroud said. “I’m just really grateful to God on all of the opportunities. He’s blessed me with. I’m going to just lean on Him.”
The No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, Stroud finished the season with 4,108 yards passing and 23 touchdowns versus five interceptions. He also had a 63.9% completion rate and a 100.8 quarterback rating for the season.
C.J. Stroud on Texans: ‘Man, They’re Close’
All jokes aside Lamar Jackson and CJ Stroud battles will be fun over the next few years 🐐🤝
Stroud led the Texans turnaround from a dismal 3-13-1 record in 2022 to a 10-7 record with an AFC South crown and convincing Wild Card win. The Texans dominated the Cleveland Browns 45-14 on January 13 in Houston.
“Honestly, I already knew that this team was a team full of fighters. Man, you look at last year, I think we lost six games from one score. I’m like ‘man, they’re close,'” Stroud said.
Houston started 1-2 and didn’t make it above .500 until Week 9 with a 39-37 shootout win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Stroud fired the game-winning pass in that contest when he broke Andrew Luck‘s single-game rookie record with 470 passing yards.
That came amid a three-game winning streak, which put the Texans above .500 to stay. Stroud and company finished the job in Week 18 with a 23-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts to win the AFC South.
“The foundation is set,” Stroud said about the season overall.
C.J. Stroud: ‘Just Gotta Get Better’
Saturday’s loss will leave Stroud and the Texans with plenty of hard lessons to take into next season, however. Houston couldn’t keep up with the Ravens after a 10-10 tie after halftime, and Stroud never led a touchdown drive as the lone touchdown came from Steven Sims‘ 67-yard return in the second quarter.
“Offensively, just can’t keep going backwards like that,” Stroud said. “There’s too many MAs, too many penalties, too many missed assignments, you know, just may part, I gotta run the offense better, you know. So just gotta get better there.”