Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud put forth a masterful performance in his team’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, going 30-for-42 with 470 yards and five touchdowns. Afterward, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James posted his very brief thoughts about Stroud’s incredible outing on X.
Stroud spread the ball all around in the Week 9 victory, hitting four unique receivers with his five touchdown tosses. Tank Dell (twice), Nico Collins, Noah Brown and Dalton Schultz were all the recipients of scores from their signal-caller. Dell caught the game-winning touchdown pass with just six seconds remaining in regulation.
Stroud posted a magnificent passer rating of 147.8 in the victory.
Three different Texans pass-catchers eclipsed the 100-yard mark. Brown led the way with 153 yards, Schultz had 130 and Dell chipped in with 114.
Perhaps what was most impressive about Stroud’s showing was that he did all of that without throwing a single interception.
On the season overall, the 22-year-old has thrown for 2,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one pick while completing 62 percent of his passes and posting a passer rating of 102.9.
Stroud, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by Houston with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft back in the spring. Carolina Panthers signal-caller Bryce Young was the only player taken before him, and while Young has demonstrated some flashes of talent this season, he hasn’t even been close to Stroud (although Young’s Panthers did beat Stroud’s Texans in Week 8).
C.J. Stroud posted video game numbers at Ohio State, amassing a total of 85 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions during two seasons as the Buckeyes’ starting quarterback. He also threw for 8,123 yards while completing 69.3 percent of his passes in 25 games. He finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting in 2021 and third last season.
Houston improved to 4-4 with its thrilling victory over the Buccaneers and will head on the road to battle the surging Cincinnati Bengals next weekend.
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