For a brief 10 seconds on that Sunday, C.J. Stroud, the rookie quarterback for the Houston Texans, felt a sensation that had eluded him throughout the first five games of his NFL career. He threw his very first interception, ending a remarkable streak of 191 pass attempts without a pick. This achievement had shattered the record held by Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, who had gone 176 attempts without an interception before Stroud took the field against the New Orleans Saints with 186 attempts to his name.
During the Texans’ second offensive drive of the game, Stroud dropped back, spotting his tight end, Dalton Schultz, seemingly open. However, his optimism quickly faded as Saints linebacker Zack Braun swooped in from the left side of the field and intercepted the pass. As Braun attempted to advance, wide receiver Nico Collins managed to punch the ball out from behind him, and offensive lineman Tytus Howard made a recovery.
Oddly enough, those tumultuous ten seconds marked the most challenging part of Stroud’s performance that day. Following this hiccup, he went on to lead his team on a six-play, 59-yard scoring drive, culminating in a 1-yard touchdown pass to Schultz. This turnaround set the stage for a 20-13 victory over the Saints, improving Houston’s season record to 3-3 as they headed into their bye week.
Collins, one of Stroud’s teammates, praised his composure, remarking, “That just shows you what type of dude he is. He is calm and collected, and that bad play is over with. We got the ball back and time to go score and put some points on the board, and that is what we did. We executed, and it is only going to get better for him, and we are going to continue to have his back and keep growing as a unit.”
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans had been emphasizing Stroud’s resilience since training camp and was not surprised by how his rookie quarterback shook off the turnover and stuck to the game plan set by offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik. In fact, Stroud’s execution after the interception was so impressive that even some of his fellow players had forgotten it had occurred.
Robert Woods, who caught a touchdown pass from Stroud against the Saints, summed it up with a smile, saying, “I don’t know what interception you are talking about. We saw Nico knock the ball out, and we kept possession. He is a resilient quarterback, just playing football. We were able to stay on the field, fortunately. He is a poised quarterback, always driving the ball downfield, and he didn’t change his demeanor after throwing one. He stayed attacking and pushing their defense.”
