HOUSTON – C.J. Stroud stood tall in the pocket, enjoying the rare luxury of precious time to see and scan the field.
Calmly and deliberately, Stroud picked apart the San Francisco 49ers’ defense in arguably his top performance of the season.
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Stroud was having fun, smiling and celebrating plays after delivering a pair of touchdown passes.
It was vintage Stroud.
The former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year delivered a resurgent performance after a rough game against the Seattle Seahawks that drew criticism, including from coach DeMeco Ryans.
Six days after that Monday night humiliation absorbed by the team in their fourth loss of the season, Stroud manufactured an impressive 26-15 victory Sunday over the 49ers at NRG Stadium.
He completed 30 of 39 passes for 318 yards, his first 300-yard game since Oct. 6, 2024 in a win over the Buffalo Bills. Stroud had an impressive 106.6 passer rating, completed passes to nine different targets despite playing without concussed Pro Bowl wide receiver Nico Collins, who’s tracking toward being back next Sunday against the Denver Broncos.
“I know I’m a top guy in this league when I’m rolling,” Stroud said. “I just got to keep that going.”
The Texans piled up a season-high 475 yards of total offense with Stroud under center.
Stroud played the way the coaches wanted him to: getting the football out quickly, making sharp decisions, taking what the defense gives him, staying within the playbook and game plan designed by offensive coordinator Nick Caley. The body language from Stroud looked different, too. He was playing with his old confidence.
“One of his best games ever,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said of the former Pro Bowl selection, second overall pick from Ohio State and consensus All-American and Heisman Trophy finalist. “When C.J. is locked in, when the quarterback is playing well and C.J. plays well and he’s upbeat and everybody can see he’s going to the right spot with the football, he’s making great decisions, stepping up, escaping the pocket, converting some runs there, converting some third downs, you just see the entire energy, the vibe of our entire sideline just changes.
“Everybody is looking for the quarterback for that leadership. It’s just about nothing special or nothing grand. It’s just about him remaining disciplined as a quarterback, doing exactly what he’s supposed to do on every given play. When he does that, he makes great decisions and with the offensive line the way they worked today, that’s what you see: one of his best games ever. The way he operated today was very clean football and I’m proud of where he is. We just have to continue to stay with this every week.”
With a strong running game and Stroud clicking again, the Texans got into a flow.
They dominated the 49ers’ injury-depleted defense, building a commanding 41:22 to 18:38 time of possession advantage. They had 23 first downs and went 9 for 16 on third down and 1 for 1 on fourth down. They only faltered in one critical area on their road toward improving their record to 3-4 for the season: going 1 for 5 in the red zone as kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn hit four field goals.
Stroud was the catalyst for the offensive improvement.
“Played amazing, man,” said wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson, who caught five passes for 69 yards and one touchdown on a well-timed, 30-yard pass in the third quarter that boosted the Texans’ lead to 23-7. “That’s what 7 is like. You can say whatever you want about C.J., but when you need him the most, man, he’s gonna show up.
“That’s what a captain does, that’s what a leader does and that’s what a guy who you know with the talent that 7 has that’s that’s what he does. That what he’s capable of. Seven put a lot of zip on that ball. The rest was history.”
Stroud was pressured on just 21.4 percent of his drop-backs, according to Next Gen Stats.
Nothing seemed to bother Stroud on Sunday. He looked much different than he did Monday night in Seattle when he appeared discouraged and frustrated while being hit constantly.
“Oh man, C.J. is the same all the time,“ right tackle Tytus Howard said. ”He doesn’t let anything affect him. He just tell guys, ‘I know what y’all can do, man, just continue to do it. You give me time, you see what I can do.’"
Having extra time, having enough time to think and scan the field made a huge different for Stroud and the Texans.
He played much faster and more efficiently.
“I thought I played solid,” Stroud said. “I thought I distributed the ball well in pressure situations, getting it out of my hand. I think just getting the ball out of my hand on time definitely helped, moving the pocket. Always things to clean up, but I’m happy with how I played. I’m always going to stay confident, even when I lack confidence.
“I was telling them on the sideline: ‘I’m not always going to be perfect, I’m not always going to be the best, but I will die on that field if I have to. I love playing this game. I respect this game. My preparation, I take it serious every week and sometimes you just go lay and egg. I’m going to leave the past in the past, but I know what I can do.”
Can the Texans go on a run?
They have two home games the next two weeks against the Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. This shapes up as a pivotal span of the season.
“I think our destiny is in front of us,” Stroud said. “Whatever we do week in and week out it really is what we can control. If we control what we can control, that’s preparation, practice, hard work, dedication, relentless effort, swarming. I think as we continue to do that, we’ll be able to get some more wins.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com