Despite being nine games into his career, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud has been one of the league’s top quarterbacks so far this season.
The No. 2 pick of this year’s draft, Stroud is leading the league in yards per game (291.8) and fewest interceptions (two). He’s also No. 3 in yards per attempt (8.3) and No. 6 in passer rating (101.0).
At 5-4, the Texans are the AFC’s No. 7 seed heading into a Week 11 matchup with the Cardinals. With a favorable schedule, it’s not farfetched to think Stroud could lead Houston to the postseason for the first time since 2019.
With more and more people taking notice of what Stroud is doing with the Texans, the quarterback said this week that he just wants to keep working.
“It’s cool to have people recognize some of the things that I’ve done or — as a team, we’ve done. I don’t think it’s just me, but it’s really cool to see,” Stroud said in his Wednesday press conference. “Especially the vets who will reach out or say something on Twitter, and I have people who text me stuff [and] things like that, so I really appreciate that. It doesn’t go unnoticed.
“But still, at the same time, I just want more. I want to do better. I want to be as complete as I can. This game is a process, and I know every week I have to bring it. And I know I’m not being treated as a rookie anymore, so people are bringing their ‘A-game’ because they want to knock me off or whatever they think. For me, I just really want to keep getting better and better and keep that chip on my shoulder and just keep grinding.”
Stroud has completed 61.6 percent of his passes for 2,626 yards with 15 touchdowns — numbers that have put him on the fringes of the MVP conversation. He acknowledged that talk on Wednesday, though he’s not putting much stock in it.
“It’s been cool to be able to be in the [MVP] talk, but just like they love me this week, they’ll hate me the next,” Stroud said. “So, I don’t try to look at that stuff. I try to stay even-keeled and just stay on the straight and narrow, and just work really hard and make my teammates around me better.”
To that end, Stroud says he’s remaining “really hard” on himself when he watches what he’s done on film.
“I’m honest with myself, or at least I try to be,” Stroud said. “Even when I try to give myself leeway, my coaches don’t allow me to, so it’s a great balance that we have. When we watch film, we’re just brutally honest with each other [and] hold each other accountable. I feel like I’ve made some plays, but there’s some things that I still need to get better on, for sure. And I feel like it’s everybody every week.
“This game keeps you honest and it keeps you humble, you know? So, it’s a humbling game and it makes you really, really look yourself in the mirror and see, ‘Did you prepare the right way? Did you do this the right way?’ Because everything will be tested on that Sunday. The eye in the sky doesn’t lie.”