The Houston Texans squandered a strong game from C.J. Stroud, but the fourth-year quarterback is not throwing anyone under the bus. In fact, Stroud is looking to take on an even greater burden if need be.
Stroud finished with 347 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions on 21-for-31 (67.7%) passing. He took 2 sacks, but avoided the poor play that marred his 2025 postseason.
However, to use Stroud’s words, “It’s not good enough.”
“I got to find a way to find bigger plays, I guess, on third down, trying to get us first downs. I thought I took care of the ball, try to do the best as I can in that area. But I think it doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, we got to be able to win,” Stroud told reporters during his postgame press conference. “I have to do more, you know, and put more on my plate, then I’m fine with that. And, you know, we got to go find ways to win. But that’s the main thing, and I think as a team we all feel that way.”
Stroud repeatedly noted the Texans’ need to “finish” games better than they have so far this season. They blew two separate 10-point leads to their in-state rivals from the NFC East, Cowboys, on Sunday in Week 4.
“C.J. is a big boy. He played outstanding today; threw the ball around really well,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans told media members during his presser.
“So many positive things that I would love to highlight from our guys. Offense, they did a really great job. Whether it’s running the ball, throwing the ball, didn’t matter. Our guys moved the ball really well. It just–didn’t play well enough defensively. And it’s really–it’s a bad feeling, right? You don’t play that well defensively to finish a game when the offense has did such an outstanding job, right? That’s just uh not great on our part.”
While the offense scored on six of their 11 possessions, only three of those were touchdowns rather than field goals.
They also had the ball last, technically, with a chance to win it still on the line.
C.J. Stroud Cites Shortcomings in Texans’ Offense
The Cowboys scored on six of their 10 offensive series, with four of them being touchdowns, including on three straight possessions in the second half. Still, Stroud spent more time lamenting some of the offense’s shortcomings.
That includes their running game, which produced 62 yards on 19 carries for the team in Week 4. Stroud had 12 yards on two carries in the contest.
The Texans entered the contest ranked 30th in rushing yards.
“We got to find a way to get those guys a chance. They’re both special backs. Both backs that can create, and I think they’re trying their best, man,” Stroud said when asked how much more potent the offense could be with a more effective ground game.
“We got to find things that fit us, that our run game execution needs to go up, and I have the utmost trust that it will. I think the backs are doing everything they can. I think our our scheme is–we’re tailoring everything to trying to get that done. So, I got the most trust and respect in Cole [Popovich] and Cales [Nick Caley] and Jerry [Schuplinski], and stuff to get that done, so. But yeah, that’s something I think we definitely got to get better at, is run the ball.”
C.J. Stroud Does Not Hold Back After Cowboys Beat Texans