Houston Texans second-year star quarterback C.J. Stroud appeared to suffer a leg injury late in the second quarter against the New York Jets on “Thursday Night Football” in Week 9. Let’s go over everything we know about Stroud, who played poorly in Houston’s 21-13 loss at MetLife Stadium.
What Happened to C.J. Stroud?
Stroud was sacked on 3rd-and-10 by Jets defensive tackle Solomon Thomas, who landed on top of the star quarterback. He stayed on the ground following the play and was in visible pain.
Stroud, accompanied by head coach DeMeco Ryans, eventually walked gingerly to Houston’s sideline.
.@SollyThomas90 got to it for a sack!#HOUvsNYJ on @NFLonPrime pic.twitter.com/K1tXEKfb2y
— New York Jets (@nyjets) November 1, 2024
CJ Stroud –
Takes a shin to his Right shin.
Worst case would be impact fracture, but likely just a bone bruise. Hopefully more pain than actual injury.
I think we see him in the 2nd half. pic.twitter.com/39QeQgQFzs— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) November 1, 2024
Stroud did not enter the blue medical tent on Houston’s sideline and was spotted talking to teammates. He returned for the last play of the half to take a knee and run out the clock.
Following halftime, Stroud returned to the field and moved well. Stroud scrambled multiple times on Houston’s first possession of the second half and stayed in for the rest of the game.
Despite Stroud’s return, the Texans couldn’t get anything going in the second half against the Jets. Houston’s offensive line struggled to slow down New York’s pass rush, as Stroud was sacked eight times by the Jets in Week 9.
When the dust settled, Stroud had completed 11 of 30 passes for 191 yards in one of the worst performances of his career. However, at this point, there doesn’t appear to be any reason to worry about his injury and status for Week 10.
How Has Stroud Played This Season?
We here at PFN Insights have created a metric to produce QB ranks based on the areas we believe are the most important in analyzing their performance and their contribution to the team.
Our QB+ metric looks at several statistics, including net yards per attempt (nYPA), third-down conversion rate, passing under pressure, and passing from a clean pocket. Additionally, we have quantified performances in clutch situations using statistics from different key scenarios within a game.
By no means is QB+ the perfect metric, and we will continue to develop it throughout the season and beyond. However, when we analyzed it against the past five years, the results were extremely indicative of what we saw on the field while providing enough nuance away from traditional statistics for measuring quarterback play.
Stroud has slipped from ranking fifth in QB+ last year to 18th this year. His metrics are a little different from Love, who is all or nothing, with Stroud largely just ranking in and around league average for most statistics so far this year.
The slight concern here will be that Stroud has posted more weeks with a grade of a C+ or below (five) than a B- or above (three). The positive spin is that the Texans are 6-2, so it hasn’t hurt them thus far.
However, it makes us wonder about this team’s ceiling. Houston’s defense is good, so if Stroud can hover around being a top-10 quarterback this year, he and this offense could dovetail nicely for a Super Bowl run with that defense in place.