The Houston Texans let a big win slip through their fingers in Week 2.
They fought hard to stay close to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and after taking a late lead with a Nick Chubb rushing touchdown, Baker Mayfield came right back to win the game.
That’s why, following the loss, C.J. Stroud shared a message to his teammates.
“Stay together. Stay committed to one another. Trust in one another. The sun will rise in the morning. It’s not the end of the world. At the same time, we all get paid a service, to do a job, and we got to get those jobs done at a faster rate. I think as a team we got to stay together. Everybody will talk crazy, ‘We s***, we this, we that.’ At the end of the day, we got to stay together and mesh well. Be honest and have hard conversations, but right now we need more confidence as an offense, at least. Confidently playing better together, I think that’s a big thing. We haven’t played together, a lot of us, so the more confidence we build, I think the better we will be off,” Stroud said.
#Texans QB C.J. Stroud message to the team @KPRC2
"Stay together. Stay committed to one another. Trust in one another. The sun will rise in the morning. It's not the end of the world. At the same time, we all get paid a service, to do a job, and we got to get those jobs done at…— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) September 16, 2025
Stroud has left plenty to be desired in the first two games.
The No. 2 overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft hasn’t lived up to the standards he set in his impressive rookie campaign.
Granted, the current offense is dealing with several injuries, but Stroud’s regression is worrisome.
On paper, the Texans should have more than enough to be the top team in the AFC South, even with running back Joe Mixon out for the foreseeable future.
Their offense has yet to get into any sort of rhythm, and this performance wasn’t encouraging.
Chubb has slowly worked his way back to game shape, and he looks more than capable of fulfilling RB1 duties, provided the offensive line creates some lanes for him.
Their defense is elite and might be one of the best in the league.
But unless Stroud takes his game to its former level, the Texans will fall short of expectations.
He was supposed to bounce back this season, and while there’s plenty of time left, the early returns haven’t been promising.
NEXT: C.J. Stroud Reveals What He Learned Last Season
