C.J. Stroud’s performance pushed the home crowd at NRG Stadium to do something the 23-year-old hasn’t heard much during his short NFL career.
HOUSTON — Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said the team’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas was “probably one of the worst games of my whole career.”
The offense failed to score any points in the game. Houston’s only 2 points came on a first-half safety.
“Sometimes you go out there and lay an egg,” Stroud said.
Stroud didn’t hesitate to take accountability for the poor performance during the media availability after the game.
“Terrible on my behalf. Probably one of my worst games of my whole career. Just came out flat. Didn’t have any energy. Didn’t lead the offense the way I should have. Always got to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself,” he said.
The second-year signal-caller finished the game with 17 completions on 31 attempts with no touchdowns and an interception, a turnover he said added to the team’s woes.
“I didn’t really feel our energy down until right before half. Then we came out flat. I threw the interception which made it worse. So those are things that we can control. We can control how we approach the game. We can control our execution. We can control our Xs and Os,” he said. “I got to look at myself. If I’m not throwing, bringing energy, I’m being an energy vampire, then I got to check myself in those moments.”
Stroud’s performance pushed the home crowd at NRG Stadium to do something the 23-year-old hasn’t heard much during his short NFL career.
“People are entitled to their opinions. They care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand. It’s not my first time (getting booed) and probably won’t be my last,” he said. “I got plenty of football left in my career. Hopefully, God willing. I know this is going to be a story I’ll tell one day that helped me in the long run. It’s part of life, man. You hit a lot of valleys and have a lot of mountaintops.”
The Texans lost to the Browns on Christmas Eve last year, but Stroud was inactive with an injury, so he didn’t play. This year, he was looking forward to getting on the field in a holiday game with all eyes on him and his team.
“I was excited to play on Christmas my first time. Last year I was out, so I was excited to play (this year). Then on primetime, on the first Netflix games, I thought that was pretty cool,” Stroud said.
Now, for Stroud, the goal isn’t on what happened in the past — it’s on what the future holds. The Texans clinched a division crown and a spot in the playoffs. That’s where the focus now lies.
“There is nothing in life you can go back on and redo, so it’s all about how you respond. You hit rock bottom, the only way is up. So we still have a lot of hope. At the end of the day we clinched our division. We still have an opportunity to go in the playoffs. Got to finish this year the right way against Tennessee, and hopefully by that time we’re in a groove and rolling when the playoffs come,” he said.
The Texans take on the Titans in the last week of the regular season before moving on into the playoffs.