Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled in Thursday night’s loss to the New York Jets. It hasn’t been a banner season overall for the second-year QB. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud was celebrated all last season, and rightfully so. He had one of the greatest rookie seasons of all time.
And the normal conclusion was that Stroud would be even better his second season. The NFL doesn’t always work that way.
Stroud has been good, but short of great in his follow-up to that rookie season. It hadn’t mattered much because he and the rest of the Texans had done enough to start the season 6-2. But against a 2-6 New York Jets team on Thursday night, Stroud needed to carry his team to a win, and he couldn’t.
The Jets won an ugly 21-13 game in which Aaron Rodgers finally came alive after a bad first half, throwing for three touchdowns after halftime. The Texans produced very little offense. Houston was without injured receivers Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs, and that’s a viable excuse. But still, it was the continuation of some regression for Stroud in his second season.
Jets struggle badly in the first half
Both teams struggled to start the game. The Texans came in dealing with a lot of injuries, which was a big reason they looked off. The Jets just aren’t a very good football team.
Neither team scored until deep into the second quarter. The Jets thought they scored, but rookie receiver Malachi Corley dropped the ball. Corley took an end-around, which was his second career touch, for an apparent 19-yard touchdown. But right before he scored, he let up, dropped the ball in celebration, and he hadn’t yet crossed the goal line. That massive mistake cost the Jets the touchdown and possession, as the ball rolled out of the end zone for a Texans touchback.
But the Texans didn’t take advantage of it. Joe Mixon scored a 3-yard touchdown, and that was the only score of the first half. Houston couldn’t extend the lead any further. Stroud didn’t produce enough big plays. But in the first half, the Jets were even worse and they trailed 7-0.
Aaron Rodgers had 32 yards passing in the first half. It was the fewest passing yards Rodgers has ever had in the first half of a game in his career, with a minimum of 10 attempts. By the the end of the half, an increasingly agitated Jets crowd started chanting “sell the team” in hopes that team owner Woody Johnson was listening.
The Jets needed a rally in the second half just to calm the crowd.
Jets take 4th quarter lead
The Jets finally did some good things in the second half.
The best came from Garrett Wilson. Wilson made a one-handed grab as he crossed the field in the third quarter and ran in for the score. In the fourth quarter, he made a more impressive one-handed grab in the end zone on third-and-19, catching it backhanded and somehow getting his shin down in bounds for the touchdown. The Jets led 14-10 after Wilson’s second touchdown.
The Jets caught a massive break after that. The Texans made a field goal, but the Jets got an unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting the snapper. But Houston couldn’t get a first down, and then Ka’imi Fairbairn somehow missed a 27-yard field goal, clanging it off the crossbar. However, Fairbairn doesn’t miss a field goal if Stroud had capitalized on that Jets penalty and taken his team to a touchdown. Rodgers’ third touchdown, on a nice play to Davante Adams, sealed the win.
The Texans (6-3) are still a good team, and likely on the way to an AFC South title. But Stroud hasn’t emerged as an MVP candidate, as some figured he would be. Last season, as a rookie, he had a 100.8 passer rating. This season, he was down to 95.6 before Thursday’s game and it will dip a bit again after he struggled to an 11-for-30, 191-yard passing night with no TDs.
He has had some poor games this season, like the Jets loss, an 86-yard game in a loss to the Packers and a two-interception day in a loss to the Vikings. He still is a good quarterback, he just has taken a small step back in his second season. There’s still plenty of time for him to rally, although he’ll have to do so without Diggs who is done for the season with a torn ACL.
Thursday night just wasn’t his night. Stroud set the bar very high during a historic rookie season and to this point, it has been hard to get over that bar.
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Tale of Two Halves
Final Stats
Texans : 322 yards offense
C.J. Stroud 11-30, 115 yards
Joe Mixon 106 yards, 1 TD, 24 carries
Tank Dell 6 catches, 126 yards
Jets : 293 yards offense
Aaron Rodgers 22-32, 211 yards, 3 TD
Davante Adams 7 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD
Garrett Wilson 9 catches, 90 yards, 2 TD
Breece Halls 74 yards, 15 carries
FINAL: Jets 21, Texans 13
Truly a story of two halves. The Jets looked like a completely different team in the second half, while the Texans could never really get on track with their offense.
Jets win, 21–13. They improve to 3–6. Houston drops to 6–3.
C.J. Stroud sacked for the 8th time
The Texans’ drive stalls at the Jets’ 11-yard line after C.J. Stroud is sacked by Haason Reddick and Quinnen Williams.
Houston needed two possessions anyway and takes a 29-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn.
Jets 21, Texans 13 with 0:30 left. Houston will now attempt an onside kick.
Marvelous and improbable
Garrett Wilson’s one-handed, 26-yard touchdown catch might have been the best of the NFL season thus far, writes Frank Schwab.
“The catch itself was marvelous. Wilson secured the ball backhanded, using just one hand. But then to have the presence of mind to get his foot down, then get his shin down in bounds before his knee landed out of bounds, is beyond description.”
The catch was also highly improbable, according to NFL’s Next Gen Stats:
Aaron Rodgers’ 26-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson had a completion probability of 13.6%, the 5th-most improbable completion of the season, and most improbable by Rodgers since Week 1, 2020.
🔹 Air Distance: 47.0 yards 🔹 Target Separation: 0.8 yards
Maybe a more affectionate shove between Aaron Rodgers and interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich after the Jets’ touchdown?
TOUCHDOWN, Jets
The Jets have probably locked this game up. Davante Adams looked just fine catching a 37-yard pass for a touchdown and a 21–10 lead with 2:56 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Jets driving and burning clock
On 3rd-and-1 from the Jets’ 44, Aaron Rodgers finds Kenny Yeboah for a 12-yard gain and a first down. Yeboah is knocked out of bounds, stopping the clock at 3:55. But the Texans have to start worrying if they’ll get the ball back here.
Davante Adams returns to game
Davante Adams takes the field on 2nd-and-5 during the Jets’ next possession.
Ka’imi Fairbairn misses 27-yard field goal
The Texans blew a huge chance to score the go-ahead touchdown. Ka’imi Fairbairn kicked a 43-yard field goal, but the Jets were called for an unnecessary roughness penalty that gave Houston an automatic first down.
However, the Texans can’t get the ball in the end zone and have to settle for another field goal try. But this time, Fairbairn hits the left upright and the kick attempt is no good.
Texans stalling in red zone
On 2nd-and-7 from the 10-yard line, Joe Mixon takes a direct snap and overthrows C.J. Stroud running into the end zone.
Making matters worse, Stroud is sacked on the next play for a 15-yard loss by Micheal Clemons.
Texans coming right back
Houston is driving toward a score on the following possession. C.J. Stroud hits Tank Dell for a 50-yard gain.
Then on 4th-and-1 from the Jets’ 15-yard line, Joe Mixon runs for two yards.
Wider look at Garrett Wilson’s TD catch
Garrett Wilson’s TD catch wasn’t on a goal-line toss. It came on a 26-yard throw from Aaron Rodgers.
TOUCHDOWN, Jets
After review, officials overturned the call on the field, ruling that Garrett Wilson got his left shin down in bounds. A great one-handed grab on a 26-yard throw stands for a touchdown.
Jets lead 14–10 early in the fourth quarter.
Jets possible TD under review
Garrett Wilson caught a pass in the back corner of the end zone that appeared to be a touchdown, but was ruled incomplete. The play is under review to see if Wilson got both feet in bounds
Davante Adams being checked for a concussion
After being checked in the medical tent, Davante Adams went to the locker room. He’s being checked for a possible concussion.
Jets go for it again on 4th down
The Jets went for it again on 4th down, this time a 4th-and-1 from the Houston 22. A play-action fake didn’t fool the Texans’ defense and Aaron Rodgers nearly threw an interception after scrambling.
However, New York is bailed out by an illegal contact penalty on Derek Stingley Jr.
Davante Adams’ 4th down catch
Here’s the play on which Davante Adams may have been injured. A 17-yard catch for a first down, but he took a big hit.
Davante Adams in the medical tent
Davante Adams appeared to be all right on the sideline. But Prime Video’s Kaylee Hartung reports that a staffer asked for his helmet and escorted him to the medical tent to be checked out.
Jets get a 4th down
Jets go for it on 4th-and-2 from the Houston 48 and convert with Aaron Rodgers hitting Davante Adams for a 17-yard gain.
However, Adams was shaken up on the tackle.
Field goal: Texans 10, Jets 7
Houston drives only 20 yards for its opening drive of the second half, but it’s enough for Ka’imi Fairbairn to kick a 54-yard field goal.