It’s Wednesday, the lull day in the third straight week that leads to Saturday football for the Houston Texans, so as the Texans hit the practice field for the second of three practice days today, let’s just do some good old fashioned reflection, and revel in the fact that we have C.J. Stroud and the other 31 NFL franchises don’t.
It’s unlikely Stroud garners any MVP votes this season, although he might catch a fourth or fifth place vote from a few of the participating writers. He will almost assuredly win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award in a landslide, no small feat considering the season Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua had. So as the Texans prepare for a trip north to try to keep their season alive, let’s just bask in this list of accomplishments by Stroud this season. Here are seven:
The first rookie to ever lead the NFL in passing yards per game
Stroud’s 273.9 yards per game was good enough to lead the league, and while other rookies have piled up yards before, Stroud is doing it on a team that won three games a year ago, with an offensive line that’s been very makeshift all season, and while leading a team to a division title. Stroud has played in very little garbage time this season. The Texans saw ten games come down to the final minute.
1 of 3 QBs ever to lead the NFL in passing yards per game and TD-to-INT ratio in the same season (joining Tom Brady and Joe Montana)
Brady accomplished this in the 2007 season, when the Patriots went 16-0 in the regular season, with Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Montana accomplished this in 1989, a season in which the Niners won the Super Bowl by 45 points and Jerry Rice was his main target. Stroud did it with a team that was on an accelerated rebuild with Nico Collins and Tank Dell (both awesome, but not household names) as his top two targets.
Set the record for most attempts without an interception to start his career (191)
This might be the harbinger that should have told the league they will have to deal with a different type of creature. Even when Stroud eventually did throw his first pick, the Texans forced a fumble and recovered it to reclaim possession. Stroud finished with just five picks, three of which came in one game (vs Arizona), and the Texans were still 3-0 in the games in which Stroud threw a pick.
Set the record for most passing yards in a game by a rookie ever (470) and tied the most TDs by a rookie in a game ever (5)
This was the Tampa Bay game! Let us relive the game wining touchdown, shall we?
Now, how about three items related to the Texans’ 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in the wild card round of the playoffs last weekend:
Became the youngest starting QB ever to guide his team to a playoff win
Tied the record for most passing TD (3) by a rookie in a playoff game. And did so against the NFL’s No. 1 defense
Recorded a 98.4 total QBR in his first playoff game, the second-highest by any QB in the playoffs since ESPN started tracking (2006)
Houston, you have a quarterback.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2024.
