Texans QB C.J. Stroud says plan was to diagnose the Dolphins’ defense

HOUSTON — Coming off the field after his second and final series against the New England Patriots, you could tell Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud wanted more opportunities to get reps and to correct an earlier mistake that he made when he threw an interception on his second pass attempt of the game.

Stroud never got that chance as coach DeMeco Ryans told him he was done for the night.

During practice, the former two-time Heisman Trophy finalist worked on improving his mistakes and demonstrating to offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik that he deserved more time in the second preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.

He got that chance on Saturday in the preseason home opener at NRG Stadium. Stroud played the entire first half finishing 7-of-12 passing for 60 yards in the 28-3 loss to Miami.

“The plan was just for me to play,” Stroud told reporters after the game. “They [Slowik and Jerrod Johnson] just wanted me to play. Go out there and try to diagnose the defense like we did in practice. Miami is a great team. We got some really good looks from them.”

Stroud was allowed to showcase his talents in front of the home crowd at NRG Stadium early when Texans linebacker Denzel Perryman intercepted Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on the first play of the game giving Houston the ball on the Miami 7-yard line.

“I feel like I took a step,” said Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud when asked about his performance on Saturday against the Miami Dolphins. “Definitely got to clean up some things, but overall, I felt like I got in a good rhythm, and started playing football like I’m used to. pic.twitter.com/YSllm4YqXQ

— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) August 20, 2023

After two rushing attempts by running back Dameon Pierce to get the ball to the one-yard line, Stroud made a big mistake by not getting the team set and ready to run a play before the play clock ran out, causing the Texans to take a delay of game penalty.

Stroud’s pass attempt on third down to fullback Andrew Beck fell short, causing a decision to be made on whether to go for it on fourth down. They took the chance, allowing the rookie quarterback to prove he could execute in those types of situations, but they fell to score after another incompletion to end the drive.

“It’s frustrating when you don’t score on the 1-yard line, but it was learning,” Stroud said. “I think any ‘L’ that you take that you don’t learn from, then it’s a real loss. Got to move on from it now and just learn from it. Not going to let it affect us and how we play football, but just learn from that and keep growing.”

Learning to flush out bad plays was something Stroud developed during his time at Ohio State. He applied that skill on the second offensive drive for Houston by completing five straight pass attempts and led the Texans to their only points of the day as kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 35-yard field goal early in the second quarter.

“I definitely think when we started rolling as an offense, that it just felt good overall, from the O-line to the tight ends to running backs to the receivers,” Stroud said about the offense’s rhythm on the second drive. “I think everybody got to touch the ball on that drive, which was special. I think it shows what we can do, but we’ve got to finish.

“I think that drive just showed us that we can be explosive and we can move the ball down the field the way we want. I definitely think that that was a step toward where we want to go. We’ve just got to keep growing. It meant a lot.”

With one preseason game left against the New Orleans Saints, the Texans have yet to name who will be the starter in the first regular season game against the Baltimore Ravens. Still, the competition between Stroud and third-year quarterback Davis Mills is over, even if Coach Ryans isn’t ready to make the statement.

When asked about it during his postgame press conference, Ryans stated the obvious to media members in attendance.

“We’ll have a starter in Baltimore,” Ryans replied. “It’s the same as I said previously. You guys will see the starter when we get to Baltimore.”

With Stroud taking all of the first-team reps the last two weeks and starting in two preseason games, it is safe to say that his name will be first on the depth chart to start the season.