The Houston Texans won their second straight game on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals after rookie QB C.J. Stroud threw a game winning drive in the final seconds of the game. The Texans stood toe-to-toe with the Bengals to finish the game 30-27 and are now heading into the season with a 5-4 record. Amidst cheers from critics and fans alike, rookie QB is on the rise. Former WR Keyshawn Johnson, now a devoted fan, reckons Stroud has a lot to do with Houston’s success.
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The one-time Super Bowl champion, Keyshawn Johnson, on the show ‘UNDISPUTED’ talked highly about the Texans quarterback and his performance in the ongoing 2023 season. Johnson believes that C.J. Stroud isn’t receiving the same attention in the league because of his rookie status and Houston’s underdog image. He highlights that if more established QBs like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Joe Burrow, and Jalen Hurts had similar performances to Stroud, it would have made headline news.
“I mean, you talk about you talk about moments Skip this was Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or, or Deshaun Watson (moment)… but because it’s a rookie, we’re like hmm and it’s Houston…Houston got a keeper in him.”
The NFL legend then mentions Stroud’s recent performances have elevated his status to where his name is being discussed in the MVP conversation. He compared C.J. Stroud to the likes of Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and noted that being in contention for the MVP title as a rookie speaks volumes about him as a seasoned NFL player.
Pat McAfee Dubs C.J. Stroud as ‘The One’
It seems the 22-year-old quarterback has impressed everyone with his ground-breaking performances. Sports analyst Pat McAfee, on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Monday referred to C.J. Stroud as “the one”. He believes that being a rookie quarterback in today’s NFL, where sophisticated defense prevails, is a challenging feat. McAfee highlights rookie QB is breaking records in an unfamiliar offense around him and appreciates his fourth-quarter comeback victory against Joe Burrow’s Bengals in Cincinnati.
“He seems to be the one. He has rookie records right now that are not supposed to be touched with the way football is. Now I know it’s much more of a passing game and everything like that. But with passing comes sophisticated defenses and offenses. So it’s definitely not a benefit to young quarterbacks who have never seen an NFL defense before.”
Moreover, McAfee highlighted Stroud’s remarkable achievements, like being one of the first rookie quarterbacks to throw over 300 yards against a tough defensive team. Recently, Stroud broke the record for most passing yards in a single game by a rookie with 470 in the Week 9 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
C.J. Stroud broke the previous record of 433, which was held by former Indianapolis Colts QB, Andrew Luck. He’s only the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for at least 470 yards and five touchdowns, making no interceptions. The others who’ve done this are two legendary quarterbacks, Y. A. Tittle and Ben Roethlisberger.
