NFL coverage flops back and forth depending on which team or player is hot at the time. The Houston Texans drafted CJ Stroud No. 2 overall in the 2023 draft and he immediately captivated the league, becoming the fifth rookie in history to throw for over 4,000 yards (4,108) and leading the Texans to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
CJ Stroud Is Third QB In Super Bowl Era To Get Postseason Wins In First Three Seasons
Stroud’s success had the NFL world anointing him as the next great quarterback and pumping up the possibility of the Texans winning a Super Bowl in Stroud’s second season. Instead of elevating, Stroud suffered through some sophomore blues as injuries to key offensive players couldn’t be covered up by a world class defense. As quickly as Jayden Daniels rose to the top of the young QB food chain, Stroud’s early success was discounted.
The 24-year-old still got the Texans back to the playoffs, but lost in the divisional round again. Crucial turnovers in the playoffs have soured some people on Stroud, especially during this season where he missed three games and threw for a career-low 3,041 yards and just 19 TDs. He threw 43 TDs and 17 picks in his first two seasons.
Three straight playoff trips to begin your career is nothing to sneeze at, but Stroud hasn’t gotten much praise from the media mill. That’s because his statistics don’t pop out at you. He doesn’t have the most dynamic offense and he’s expected to game manage more than play hero ball. His head coach DeMeco Ryans is a former defensive coordinator for a daunting 49ers defense, prior to arriving in Houston, where he’s imprinted that same mentality on his team.
Fans Have Exaggerated CJ Stroud’s Regression
Ever since his record-breaking rookie season, fans have been criticizing Stroud’s progression, despite his postseason success.
“CJ Stroud if it wasn’t for that rookie season,” one fan captioned above a video of a young man flipping burgers.
“CJ Stroud. Overrated beyond belief,” said another unsatisfied customer.
“CJ Stroud is the exact reason why we need to stop anointing players “elite” or “superstars” after one year. He’s done nothing but decline since his awesome rookie season. Where he was his team’s biggest asset, he’s now their biggest liability,” said another.
“Also CJ Stroud is the most overrated QB in the league, bro has not been good for 2 years and the offense looked better with Davis f**king Mills at Quarterback,” another netizen quipped.
Not everyone agreed.
“all he does is win. in the playoff every season. real results,” said one fan on Facebook in defense of Stroud’s resume. People these days seem to have a problem with winning.”
“All these other guys have video game numbers and no playoff wins lol. Houston will take the W’s CJ. Only 24 years old,” argued another fan on X.
It’s weird how drastically fantasy and video games have fans’ minds so confused that they don’t recognize a winning player when they see one.
Turnovers Are Only Thing Holding CJ Stroud Back
The Texans’ offense ranked 18th overall in the league, complimenting a stingy defense that ranked first. Houston (13-5) shellacked Pittsburgh in the Wildcard round, 30-6, and Stroud did what he had to do to help the team win. If he cleans up the turnovers, the Texans are cooking with fish grease. Maybe it’s a higher power that leads him during the postseason because Stroud is not shy about his faith.
Similar to Jalen Hurts, people tend to overlook his winning pedigree and focus on his flaws, rather than the team success that doesn’t happen if he’s not leading the charge. NFL teams don’t win in spite of their quarterback and that applies in Houston.
Players can’t be concerned with being overhyped by the public and then torn down when they don’t live up to realistic expectations. Stroud is a young quarterback with three playoff wins under his belt. He’s just the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to win a playoff game in each of his first three seasons. The elite quarterbacks in this game, who everybody praises, don’t have postseason resumes that can match the young gunslinger.
Not Justin Herbert, Kyler Murray, Kirk Cousins, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Baker Mayfield, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love…the list goes on.
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CJ Stroud Vs. Drake Maye
It’s not like the Texans are this juggernaut. Their success and failure largely depend on his performance. Having an elite defense helps, but scoring is the name of the game in the NFL and Stroud is capable of doing enough of it to knock off the Patriots on January 18th in the AFC Divisional round. the last time these teams met in 2024, the Texans won handily, 41-21.
Stroud will be going up against second-year star Drake Maye, a strong MVP candidate, who led the Patriots franchise to its first AFC East division title. Maye is the latest “next best thing” in the ever-revolving NFL QB rankings. Maye made a tremendous leap from his rookie season in 2024, when he played in 13 games and threw for just 2,276 yards, 15 TDs and 10 picks. This season he threw for 4,394 yards and 31 TDs.
