It’s likely Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud scripted his first NFL action a lot differently than how it played out during Thursday night’s preseason opener at New England.
Making his NFL debut while starting, the Texans’ No.2 overall pick looked overwhelmed during the 20-9 win over the Patriots while playing behind an offensive line that was missing All-Pro left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right tackle Tytus Howard. And Stroud was running and scrambling for his life during his only action of the night in the first two offensive series.
Stroud was constantly under pressure, sacked once and then threw a bad interception in the direction of rookie receiver Tank Dell to set up the Patriots’ only score of the first half – a 44-yard field goal by Nick Folk. Stroud completed 2 of 4 passes for 13 yards before he was done in the first quarter.
Things started well for Stroud who hit wide receiver Nico Collins for an eight-yard pass on the opening offensive play of the night. That play helped set up a first down, but that’s when things got rough for the rookie out of Ohio State.
Stroud was sacked from pressure up the middle on first down and then on third down, he was intercepted while failing to look off Dell.
DeMeco Ryans, who also made his debut as the Texans head coach, surprised some this week when he named Stroud the starter over returning starter Davis Mills in his first NFL action against Bill Belichick’s defense.
“It’s a preseason game here and it was my decision for him to go out first,” Ryans said prior to Thursday night’s game. “He’s been working with our first team for the past couple of days – continuing to stay on the same track.”
Stroud and Mills have been competing for the starting job all camp with them alternating first-team reps during much of the first two weeks. Mills, who wasn’t impressive in his first two years as the Texans starter, took over for Stroud and immediately you could see the difference in experience.
Mills made plays and wasn’t rattled at all as he completed 9 of 12 passes for 99 yards while playing the remainder of the first half. He even put points on the board in the final 12 seconds of the first half when his six-yard pass dropped into the hands of Dell who turned and fell into the end zone, giving the Texans a 7-3 lead at halftime.
The expectation is the 21-year-old Stroud will be the Texans’ starter at some point this season. It’s just a matter of how long it takes him to get comfortable. Stroud has said his focus is not on starting but on learning and getting better.
“I don’t want anything given to me, I want to earn everything, and Davis [Mills] is a great quarterback, so is Case [Keenum], and honestly we’re not even focused on that,” Stroud said early in training camp. “We’re just focused on getting better and better and better, because at the end of the day if you focus on trying to do something extra, or do this here and there, that’s when you start confusing yourself and [start]doing what’s out of the playbook and make mistakes.”
While most eyes were on the quarterbacks, there were quite a few other positives in the Texans’ preseason debut. And it starts with Ryan’s defense which dominated the Patriots, holding them to just a lone field goal through the first three quarters and didn’t give up a touchdown until late in the fourth quarter.
Rookie linebacker Henry To’oto’o showed up big in the first half, with the fifth-round pick out of Alabama leading all tacklers with five tackles, which included three solo stops. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who the Texans traded up to take third overall out of Alabama, had a quarterback pressure during the first defensive series and finished with one tackle on the night.
Dell, the Texans’ third-round pick out of University of Houston, had a strong night after catching five passes for 65 yards on eight targets while showing an ability to create separation and get open during the first half.
Running back Devin Singletary, who started in place of Dameon Pierce, had a couple of nice runs during his brief action, while Mike Boone picked up 25 yards on four carries on the night.
