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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
HOUSTON — Inside the Houston Texans’ meeting room last week, a debate broke out as the offense was preparing for the season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik was discussing a pass play and how he wanted the receivers to run routes against the Colts’ Cover 3 look. Receiver Stefon Diggs spoke up, saying he thought the routes should be shorter.
After a few minutes of back-and-forth between coaches and players, everyone turned around and looked at quarterback C.J. Stroud for the final say. When Slowik asked him, he sided with the receivers.
That’s the influence Stroud has in Year 2. But that’s also the type of offensive command coaches challenged him to take in the offseason. And it’s the tactic that helped the Texans win 29-27 on Sunday.
Stroud threw for 234 yards with two touchdowns — both to Diggs. One touchdown occurred on a crucial fourth-and-goal play from the Colts’ 2-yard line with 4:45 remaining to put the Texans up 29-20. Another critical play came on third-and-11, when Stroud zipped a pass in a tight window to Nico Collins for a first down with two minutes remaining to ice the game.
Last year, Stroud became the fifth rookie to pass for 4,000 yards in a season (4,108) and led the Texans to the AFC South title. Stroud also won a playoff game, making him the youngest quarterback (22 years, 102 days old) to do so.
There are high hopes for the Texans in 2024, and Stroud is the reason. Coach DeMeco Ryans’ main ask of Stroud as a rookie was making sure he took control of the offense, and now it’s about directing his unit and being a coach on the field. Stroud is evolving as a leader on and off the field — from inviting newcomers to his house and teaching them the offense to texting receivers clips from last season to discuss routes and defenses. He also watched film with Slowik to understand how his playcaller sees the game.
“When we came back in the spring and started working with guys, we honed in on certain things,” Ryans told ESPN. “For C.J., it was just about taking more command, and he’s done that. The man is a football junkie. That’s the one thing you have to have from the quarterback spot … and that’s what allows C.J. to be great.”
AS STROUD SAT in a suite at Super Bowl LVIII, surrounded by the likes of Kim Kardashian, singer Ciara, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, he was texting Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson about the San Francisco 49ers’ defense.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed passes on back-to-back sequences in overtime against the 49ers’ Cover 0 blitz. Stroud wanted to discuss how Mahomes attacked the defense. He wanted this to be a part of the Texans’ offense.
“[That exchange] just confirmed we got the right guy,” Johnson told ESPN. “People saw him at the Super Bowl, but he’s sending text messages about the actual scheme and plays while he’s there. Football is always on his mind.”
When spring workouts began April 15, coaches worked with Stroud to increase his responsibilities in the offense.
“[Last season] when C.J. had command on what was going on, and we had people lined up in the right spot and we were doing what we were supposed to do, we were clicking and we were rolling,” Slowik said. “I would say almost every time we had any sort of malfunction as an offense, it was because we were lacking one of those qualities somewhere.”
Slowik showed Stroud film of their first win, a 37-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 3 of 2023. Stroud had 280 passing yards and two touchdowns in the Texans’ second-highest-scoring output of the regular season. Slowik highlighted what Stroud had to fix pre-snap: lining people up correctly and communicating instructions.
“[He] had to do everything to keep us on track,” Slowik said.
Stroud watched hours of film to master the playbook and stayed in communication with teammates throughout the offseason, which helped his growth. He also studied other offenses, including those of the Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, to steal effective concepts and pitch them to teammates and coaches.
Stroud would text teammates clips of games against the Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens and Colts to “clean up on little [details] with routes,” Collins said. Stroud would also send YouTube clips of five-time All-Pro receiver Julio Jones to Collins since both are similar in size and Collins views Jones as a role model.
When the Texans traded for running back Joe Mixon and Diggs, Stroud invited them to his house to watch film to teach them their offensive scheme and show them how they can be incorporated.
Mixon and Diggs were a big part of Houston’s aggressive roster upgrade this offseason, in which it spent $244.3 million in guaranteed money, the fifth most according to ESPN Stats & Information. In addition to Diggs’ two touchdowns, Mixon rushed for a league-high 159 yards and a touchdown in Week 1.
Mixon was brought in to bolster a run game that was tied for fourth worst in yards per carry (3.7) last season, and the Texans ended Week 1 leading the league in rushing (213 yards). Diggs, who had six catches for 33 yards, was brought in to team up with Collins and Tank Dell, who combined for 2,006 receiving yards last season.
“He broke things down and talked about the offense and what we want to do and what we want to accomplish,” Mixon said of Stroud. “C.J. is a phenomenal quarterback. The way he prepares each and every day. He’s spending time in the weight room, he’s spending time in the film room, and also, he’s trying to learn. … I think he does a hell of a job preparing.”
IN MID-JULY AHEAD of training camp, the receivers and tight ends went to the University of Miami with Stroud to work on rhythm and timing. He set up multiple Airbnbs for the group, and they spent three days there, working out in the morning for roughly two hours.
One concept they focused on was running a post against different coverages in Slowik’s offense, which specializes in throws on and between the hashes. Stroud threw 300 passes in that area last season, according to Next Gen Stats. Tight end Brevin Jordan called it “breaking it to daylight,” which means if the defense has a two-high-safety look, they would run through the zone and have Stroud deliver in that window.
In Stroud’s eyes, the time spent outside of NRG Stadium is important. The “more camaraderie off the field and spending time with guys,” will help build trust, he said. “When times are tough, we can lean on each other.”
Throughout training camp, Stroud continued honing in on the details — things as small as keeping the huddle tight and making sure everyone’s eyes are on him when he’s calling a play. He has spent time improving his timing on a motion snap point since the Texans motioned 386 times on pass plays last season (10th most in the league). And even though center Juice Scruggs makes the offensive line protection calls, Stroud has made sure he has a strong understanding of what’s being called.
“When the quarterbacks get with us to go over protections, [Stroud] is more equipped,” right guard Shaq Mason told ESPN. “He knows the whole package now. It’s not like, ‘Where y’all gonna be?'”
The Texans next take on the Chicago Bears (1-0) in their home opener Sunday night (8:20 ET, NBC), Stroud’s second regular-season game in prime time. The Bears have high hopes in their new quarterback, No. 1 draft pick Caleb Williams, and their defense was a big part of their opening-week win against the Tennessee Titans, picking off quarterback Will Levis twice.
But in Houston, the staff feels confident Stroud will be ready for anything defenses throw at him. Ryans believes his quarterback is “understanding the entire picture,” as compared to last year at this time. Slowik has seen Stroud’s command go from just doing his job to making sure to “fix” everything around him to keep everyone on track.
“Last year, a lot of times C.J. had to hone in on his own job so much,” Slowik told ESPN. “Someone else could be wrong, but you’ve just got to go do your job, and [he] couldn’t necessarily right the ship. This year, he’s done a lot more of being able to not only do his job, but help others get where they need to go.”
The Texans entered Week 1 with the fourth-best odds to win the AFC (+750) and seventh-best odds to win the Super Bowl (+1600), according to ESPN BET. Their Super Bowl odds have since improved (+1300), tying them with the Dallas Cowboys for sixth. They have also moved up to third in odds to win the AFC (+700).
But Stroud knows it’s on him to bring it all together.
“I’m the captain of the ship, and I’ve got to run it the right way,” Stroud said. “And I feel like I’ve stepped into the role of not only holding guys accountable, but also holding myself accountable to those moments. I don’t let anything slide.”