The Houston Texans are currently mired in a slump. Losers of three of their last four games including Sunday’s ugly 32-27 home loss to the (3-8) Tennessee Titans, the Texans have gone from 6-2 to 7-5.
While they still hold a two-game lead over the Indianapolis Colts for first place in the AFC South, this isn’t the same team that won six of its first eight games this season.
Among those losses is a road defeat to the 3-8 New York Jets, and a blown 17-point halftime lead in a home loss to Detroit Lions, arguably the best team in the league.
Houston Texans Fans Are Losing Their Minds
The losing streak has rattled the fan base so much that one fan, a female named Nicole, called in to Houston radio station SportsRadio 610 to claim the losses are a conspiracy. She also claimed that the losses were part of an “NFL cartel” that already chooses the outcome of the game prior to it being played.
Nicole Comes For Everybody Not Named DeMeco Ryans
In her rant the caller took shots at a coach, the star quarterback and the kicker.
She started by calling out placekicker Kai Fairbairn, who’s missed six field goals in 34 attempts and is perfect on extra points (27-27). Nicole told the radio listeners that Fairbairn is missing because he’s actually so good.
She then turned to offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, who hasn’t looked like the play-calling genius he did a season ago.
“I don’t know why he always calls that play where you throw to your left or right, and you have to catch up the line of scrimmage,” Nicole said.
Lastly, she came for quarterback C.J. Stroud who after taking home NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors last season throwing 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions has been in a bit of a sophomore slump this season.
Stroud has been inconsistent for much of the season, and Sunday’s effort which included 247 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions was a far cry from the rookie we saw last season. The ugliest moment for Stroud had to be when he channeled his inner Dan Orlovsky and stepped out of the bounds in the end zone resulting in a safety.
Stroud Knows He Must Be Better
After lighting the league up as a rookie, this season has been a bit of a struggle for the former Ohio State Buckeyes star. This season he’s thrown just 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions, which includes five picks in his past three games. Following Sunday’s loss Stroud told reporters, “It’s no secret I haven’t been playing well for my standard.”
“Everybody has to look in the mirror and try to get things fixed,” he added after the team’s second consecutive home loss. “So that’s gotta be the plan for this week. Practicing. Getting better. Personally, I got to get better. As a team, we have to get better.”
To his credit, his receiver corps hasn’t been healthy all season. Early in the season he lost his top threat Nico Collins for a few weeks. Then Stefon Diggs, the team’s biggest offseason addition, tore his ACL. That’s enough to contribute to any QB’s struggles, and Stroud’s play has faltered because of it.
But all the talk about “NFL cartels” and conspiracies is nonsense.
