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The Houston Texans are just a few weeks removed from a Divisional Round Playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s the second consecutive year in which Houston was knocked out of the postseason by the AFC’s top seed, and if that seems like a disappointing outcome, you need to consider that it’s only the second time in franchise history that the Texans have played in the Divisional Round in back-to-back years. If you’re on the hunt for a catalyst of this new-found consistency and competitiveness, look no further than quarterback C.J. Stroud.
Stroud was named Rookie of the Year in 2023 and even finished 8th in the MVP vote during his first NFL season. He’s 19-13 in the regular season, he’s led the Texans on five game-winning drives, and he already has victories over Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Josh Allen on his resume. But what may endear him to Texans fans more than anything else could be his affinity for the city he now calls home, and the franchise who made him the 2nd overall pick in the NFL Draft.
“I love Houston, man. I pray every day and I just thank God for the opportunity to be here every day. So, I hope I’m here for 100 years and whatever the Lord allows me to be,” Stroud said during Travis Scott’s annual Cactus Jack HBCU softball classic in Houston. “I’m super, super blessed and grateful.”
100 years may be a bit of a stretch, but C.J. Stroud is only 23 years old, so what will likely be a long and very successful career lies ahead of him, at least if you’re basing that assessment on the young signal-caller’s limited but incredibly impressive body of work.
In just 32 games as the Texans starting quarterback, he’s thrown for 7,835 yards and 43 touchdowns. Stroud already has the 4th-most passing yards in franchise history, and he’s on pace right now to eventually break Matt Schaub’s mark of 23,221 yards sometime early on in his 7th NFL season. He’ll likely surpass Schaub’s passing touchdowns mark (124) around the same time.
C.J. Stroud would be the first person to tell you though that this hasn’t been a singular effort to revitalize a franchise that was at an all-time low before he arrived. Coming off of a messy divorce with Deshaun Watson, it was the selection of Stroud in conjunction with the arrivals of head coach DeMeco Ryans, stud receiver Nico Collins, and a pair of defensive stars (Derek Stingley Jr. and Will Anderson) that give fans in H-Town reason to believe a breakthrough to the AFC Championship Game or beyond may be coming.
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