C.J. Stroud gets a taste of adversity in Texans preseason opener

Ben Arthur

AFC South Reporter

On his first drive as a professional football player Saturday night, on the Texans’ sixth play from scrimmage, C.J. Stroud faced a third-and-long. He went through his progressions. He set his eyes downfield to the right on fellow rookie Tank Dell, near the numbers. He double-clutched and fired.

The ball never reached Dell. Patriots cornerback Jalen Mills, following Stroud’s eyes, slipped underneath Dell and picked off the late throw. He returned it 13 yards to set up New England just outside the red zone, leading to an early 3-0 deficit for Houston.

It marked Stroud’s welcome-to-the-NFL moment.

“I think we had a pretty decent day offensively, except for me,” Stroud laughed.

In the Texans’ 20-9 win over the Patriots in their preseason opener, Stroud faced the adversity one would expect a rookie quarterback to meet in his NFL debut — only amplified going against Bill Belichick, known to give young signal-callers hell.

The No. 2 overall pick acknowledged that he forced his throw on the pick, saying he should’ve just hit tight end Dalton Schultz on the checkdown underneath. It was part of a day in which he completed just two of his four passes for 13 yards and no touchdowns in two drives of action. Stroud averaged just 3.3 yards per pass attempt. His passer rating was an abysmal 17.7.

The weather didn’t help.

“It was kind of funny. I was talking to my mom about this. It feels like every first game I’ve had in my career has been a rainy game,” Stroud smiled. “Back in college and in high school. … I got to work through it. It was good to be in that type of element. That’s NFL football. Those harsh environments and how do you handle it. I feel like if I had gotten more at-bats and gotten to be out there a little more, I definitely think I would’ve gotten in a better rhythm, but they wanted to protect me and make sure I was alright. So they pulled me out and it was what it was. I won’t ever go against the coach or anything like that.

“I think that as I just keep growing, keep building, keep getting more reps and game live reps under my belt, the better I’ll become.”

On Houston’s fourth play from scrimmage, Stroud was also sacked for a 15-yard loss, though it’s hard to say it was his fault. Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale was quickly in his face after beating right guard Austin Deculus.

The Texans played without either of their starting offensive tackles (Laremy Tunsil, Tytus Howard), amplifying Stroud’s predicament against the Patriots’ deep defensive front. He was pressured on three of his five dropbacks, according to Next Gen Stats.

Ultimately, it’s far too early to thrust judgment on Stroud. We’re still just two weeks into training camp. In addition to not having the full starting offensive line Thursday night, Houston’s star running back (Dameon Pierce) and potential leading receiver (Robert Woods) didn’t play. Stroud needs more time against the speed of NFL defenses, too. The interception was bad, but all quarterbacks throw picks.

Will Stroud learn from mistakes and make the necessary adjustments? Only time can answer that question.

“It’s good to have some ups and downs,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s what this league is all about. It’s not always going to go great. It’s not always going to go your way. It’s all about how you respond to the things that happen with you. And I thought his response to (the interception) was fine.”

Setting expectations for rookie QB C.J. Stroud in the NFL

It’s all part of Stroud’s ongoing development as the Texans’ hopeful franchise quarterback. He’s had his ups and downs throughout training camp, too. Until this past week, he was splitting first-team reps with incumbent starter Davis Mills.

It’s been a process more gradual than the one for his good buddy and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young, who was named QB1 for the Panthers at the start of training camp. Officially, Stroud is still in a quarterback battle with Mills, though the tide has started to shift in Stroud’s favor the last several days, based on practice performance.

The only thing the former Ohio State star needs to do is continue growing.

“You don’t ever want to ride the highs or ride the lows,” Stroud said. “You want to just stay even-keel. That’s what I plan to do — learn from everything, learn from the good and the bad. I have a bunch of vets (with the Texans) to help me every day with that type of thing.

“(It’s like) ‘yeah, I want the play back,'” Stroud added on the interception. “I want to be perfect. But that is what this camp and preseason is for, just to make mistakes. So when it comes to the regular season, I don’t make those anymore.”

Mills and veteran Davis Mills looked like the experienced quarterbacks they are, albeit with all second- and third-stringers. Both were efficient.

Mills completed 75% of his passes (9-of-12) for 99 yards and a touchdown with a 126.7 passer rating in four drives, all of which came in the second quarter. Keenum had a 64.2% completion rate (9-of-14) for 79 yards and a touchdown with a 103.0 passer rating in four series, playing the entire second half.

We know what they are as pros, though. Mills is floating somewhere between a fringe starter and backup with the Texans entering Year 3. Keenum is a backup.

We don’t yet know what Stroud is — and won’t know for a while.

For now, he’s enjoying the ride.

“It’s a fun experience for me,” Stroud said. “I’m in the NFL. (There’s) nothing to hold my head down about. I’ve been dreaming about this moment my whole life.”

Ben Arthur is the AFC South reporter for FOX Sports. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where he was the Titans beat writer for a year and a half. He covered the Seattle Seahawks for SeattlePI.com for three seasons (2018-20) prior to moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on Twitter at @benyarthur.

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