C.J. Stroud may be taking the heat, but ESPN’s Dominique Foxworth says the Houston Texans’ offense is the real mess.
That was the clear message on Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s Get Up, where Foxworth pushed back on the growing noise around Stroud and pointed the finger at everything around him. Houston is 0-2, and the quarterback has already become a lightning rod again. But through two games, Stroud has actually put together a strong statistical start while the rest of the offense has fallen apart.
Foxworth didn’t mince words about what Stroud is working with.
"That Stroud is going to get a lot of negative attention because things aren't going well for them offensively, and he's betting on himself. And I know no one wants to hear people make excuses for him, but I'm going to make excuses for him.
Because like, they can't run the ball, they can't protect him, his best receiver might be a tight end. This is a tall task they're asking for him.
The defense seemed to play better than it has last week, but they were out of this game because they couldn't produce anything offensively. And I know there are some quarterbacks that might be able to come elevate above all of this stuff, but there's not very many that can do something with what he's been dealing with."
The numbers back up the point. Stroud is currently third in the NFL in passing yards with 627, second in completions with 56, and he has yet to throw an interception. That matters even more because he’s playing this season with more than just ordinary pressure on him: after failing to reach a deal with the Texans this offseason, he’s now trying to boost his value in what could become a market-setting quarterback contract situation by the end of the year.
Houston’s opener against the Buffalo Bills looked, for a moment, like the offense had found something. The Texans piled up 381 total yards, including 257 through the air and 124 on the ground.
They also converted 7 of 16 third downs, went 2-for-2 on fourth down and finished 4-for-5 in the red zone. By the end of the afternoon, it stood as one of the best offensive outings by a Texans team under DeMeco Ryans.
Stroud did his part in that game, too. He threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, added 15 rushing yards, and finished with only two fumbles over four quarters. It wasn’t spotless, but it was productive.
The catch, of course, is that the Bills defense had also given up 31 points in back-to-back weeks, to the Texans and the Detroit Lions, while allowing 736 total yards. So the performance came with some context.
Week 2 offered none of that cushion. Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Stroud still produced 353 passing yards, no interceptions and 29 rushing yards, but the offense around him barely functioned.
The line was beaten up all afternoon, the receivers couldn’t consistently win on the outside, the run game never got going, and play caller Nick Caley made things worse in short-yardage situations, especially near the goal line. Houston finished with just six points.
That’s the bigger story after two weeks: the Texans are winless because the offense has been broken in almost every phase, not because Stroud has suddenly become the problem. Even with last season’s playoff struggles still hanging over him, his case keeps getting stronger that the criticism has been aimed in the wrong direction.
And if he keeps this pace going, the contract conversation will only get louder. By season’s end, Stroud could be lined up in a quarterback market that also includes his draft mate Bryce Young and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, both of whom are expected to be chasing new deals as well. If Stroud keeps producing at this rate over 17 games, he’ll have every reason to believe he can cash in.
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