The Texans are 0-2 through two weeks, but rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has displayed some strong play to begin his career.
The No. 2 overall pick of this year’s draft has completed 64 percent of his throws for 626 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions — good for a passer rating of 91.2. In Sunday’s 31-20 loss to the Colts, Stroud was 30-of-47 for 264 yards with two TDs.
On Monday, Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said Stroud did some “really good things” in Week 2, though there are details to clean up.
“C.J. is a very good processor — a smart, smart quarterback. He’s not going to make the same mistake twice,” Ryans said in his press conference. “That’s one thing I like about him. He knows his mistakes and he knows how to correct them on the fly and it’s just encouraging when you see a young player, a rookie quarterback, who is able to make steps in the right direction. He’s able to progress, he’s able to grow within games. Like you see in our past game where he got pressured and held onto the ball a little too long and he comes back, and he makes the right decision with the football.
“This kid is made of all the right stuff. Happy to have him on board — our team is happy to have him on board. We just have to play better, complimentary football around him.”
Stroud has been sacked a league-high 11 times through the first two weeks and has fumbled three times, losing two of them. But the early returns have provided reason to believe he can become a consistent performer behind center for Houston.