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C.J. Stroud give brutally honest response on being booed vs. Ravens

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As the Houston Texans headed into the locker room before halftime, a swarm of boos reverbed off the steel beams inside NRG Stadium.

That sound carried over as players left the field for the final time in the regular season as the Texans couldn’t muster up a sign of offense in a 31-2 loss against the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day.

Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud understands the fan frustration, especially admitted his performance in Wednesday’s Christmas showdown was “probably one of my worst games” in his career.

“People are entitled to their opinions. They care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand,” Stroud said after failing to find the end zone. “This is not my first time and probably won’t be my last. It’s not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself but it is something that you can use to motivate you, to not want those moments anymore.

Last season, Stroud took the NFL by storm. Media pundits declared the 2023 No. 2 overall pick the league’s next “elite QB” after guiding Houston to its first 10-win season and a playoff berth in four years.

But with all the success came expanded expectations for an encore in Year 2. Fans believed after a bountiful offseason, plus a sure-fire quarterback,

Houston would be a force in the AFC next to Buffalo and Kansas City.
Instead, the Texans are trudging their way to an underwhelming division title while being booed off the field to make room for Beyoncé’s halftime show.

“What are you going to do? Cry and weep about it?,” Stroud said. “Of course, it’s not easy, but at the same time, it’s part of the game, sometimes you go out there and lay an egg. It’s not easy to sit out here and say that, but that’s what happened tonight.”

Stroud, who finished 17-of-31 passing for 185 yards and an interception, can’t take all the blame. He was sacked five times, including three times on third down to knock Houston out of range for a conversion.

The passing attack was limited without Tank Dell following his season-ending injury. John Metchie III stepped up as the No. 2 option, but his 48 receiving yards could only provide so much.

The Texans finished 4-of-15 on third-down conversions and could only muster up 211 total yards of offense compared to Baltimore’s 423. Wednesday marked the worst performance from a DeMeco Ryans-led defense in two seasons.

“Nobody played good enough for us to win the football game today. There were opportunities we had that we didn’t make, not only from C.J., but defensively, the tackling, all those things,” Ryans said postgame. “In position to make plays, at the end of the day you have to make plays.”

Stroud, who’s doubled his interception total from his Offensive Rookie of the Year season, could make up for his rocky when they return to NRG Stadium as the No. 4 seed in the AFC Playoffs.

Houston currently sits at rock bottom following the chants of boos from fans. That’s a good thing in his mind since the only place to go is up.

“At the end of the day we clinched our division. We still have an opportunity to go in the playoffs,” Stroud said. “Got to finish this year the right way against Tennessee, and hopefully by that time we’re in a groove and rolling when the playoffs come.”