CJ Stroud Beat The Bucs With A Last Second TD Pass As He Set An NFL Rookie Record

While so many teams around the NFL are dealing with mediocre to outright awful quarterback play week in and week out, the Houston Texans, a bit surprisingly, are getting some high level production on a weekly basis.

C.J. Stroud has been terrific as a rookie, not just in comparison to other rookie quarterbacks but to the rest of the signal callers in the league as a whole. Stroud had a bit of a hiccup a week ago in a loss to the Panthers, but he bounced back in a huge way on Sunday to set a rookie record for single game passing yards with 470 in a thrilling win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that moved the Texans to 4-4 on the season.

Stroud finished the game with 470 yards on 30-of-42 passing with 5 touchdowns, more than doubling his season touchdowns total as he continues to grow more comfortable letting it rip. That was evidenced in how he played in the second half, as the Texans scored 29 points in the second half while playing without a kicker — although backup running back Dare Ogunbowale hit a 29-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to put them up by three.

It looked as though Stroud’s effort might not be enough as Baker Mayfield connected with Cade Otton on a touchdown pass with under a minute to play to put the Bucs up four.

However, Stroud calmly marched the Texans deep into Bucs territory with some absolute dimes, linking up with fellow rookie Tank Dell for the two biggest completions of the game. The first was on a deep corner route to the sideline to get within striking distance of the end zone with 11 seconds on the clock, as Stroud lofted a beautiful ball into space and Dell was able to haul it in and get both feet in before stepping out to stop the clock.

On the next play, Stroud ripped one to Dell up the seam for the game-winning touchdown, firmly announcing his presence as a budding star QB in the league.

Stroud will surely see some more ups and downs as his rookie year continues, but you can see the confidence he has in what he’s being asked to do. He now has 1,800 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and just one interception on the season, as he’s not only doing a good job protecting the ball and not making mistakes but is now showing the ability to push the ball downfield with more authority while remaining efficient. Just look at this pass chart, going all over the field to pick apart the Bucs.

Given the prerequisite for being a top team in the NFL these days is high-level QB play — and how few teams feel like they have that — the Texans have to be thrilled with Stroud’s performance this season and feel like they are on a very good track for their rebuild.