C.J. Stroud had every reason to come unglued when Travis Hunter picked him off in the end zone with less than four minutes to play in London. Instead, the Houston Texans QB led the drive that set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 49-yard field goal. That capped a 24-of-34, 312-yard, three-touchdown day in a 34-31 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
A week earlier, Houston beat the Tennessee Titans 26-3. Sunday’s win made it two in a row after a 0-4 start and lifted the Texans to 2-4. It also had head coach DeMeco Ryans and voices across the NFL praising Stroud.
DeMeco Ryans, NFL World Credit C.J. Stroud for Texans Offense’s Stunning Comeback
For a team that had lost all three of its one-score games before Sunday, it was a long-awaited finish, and the HC’s praise went well beyond one drive.
“C.J.’s been hot all year, and he’s still hot. He’s lighting it up; he’s dishing the ball around to a lot of different people. He’s doing an outstanding job of leading this offense to put up over 30 points again. I think this is the third time this year that the offense has been able to do that. Credit to him,” Ryans said after the game.
Notably, ten different Texans caught a pass Sunday, led by Jaylin Noel with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. The praise didn’t stop at Houston’s locker room.
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On CBS’s postgame show, Ran Carthon named Stroud his biggest winner of Week 6, saying, “This was about as confident as I’ve seen C.J. Stroud process and throw the football. He has really stepped up.”
ESPN Insights noted that Stroud has thrown for 250-plus yards in five of six games this season, after only three such games last season.
Meanwhile, podcaster Joel Moran outlined that Stroud has “played like a top-10 QB.”
Through Week 6, Stroud’s 1,714 passing yards rank second in the NFL, and he has nine touchdown passes against one interception. His 100.9 passer rating is 11th of 33 qualified quarterbacks. PFN’s NFL QB Impact Grade has him at 82.8 for the season so far, eighth of 34 graded quarterbacks.
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Not every voice stopped at the quarterback. Ari Meirov wrote that “The offense with C.J. Stroud has been really good, and their kicking game is among the NFL’s best.” But he called the defense the surprise, since a unit expected to be the team’s biggest strength keeps allowing 30-plus points.
James Palmer said Stroud looked comfortable all game and has played well all season. He also asked the bigger question: “Are we going to be looking back later in the season as this is the game that changed Houston’s season?”
The Texans host the New York Giants on Oct. 25 before their Week 8 bye. The rematch with the Jaguars comes Dec. 20 in Houston.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.