Houston's flop on Christmas Day might send some franchises into a late-season tailspin.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud is certain that won't happen to the Texans.
"No. I mean, what are you going to do? Cry and weep about it? Of course, you know, it's not easy," Stroud said after the 31-2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. "At the same time, it's part of the game. Sometimes you go out there and lay an egg. It's not easy to say that, but that's what happened tonight. Didn't play well from the first play to the last. That's part of the game. Things happen.
"I'm sure a lot of people in their careers had this type of game before. I'm not going to sit here and act like it's foreign, but it is necessary to wake you up. That's what it's going to do for me and this team."
If they're looking for them, the Texans can find a couple of excuses for their poor showing against an ascending Ravens squad. Houston went toe-to-toe with the AFC's top team, the Kansas City Chiefs, in an eight-point road loss on Saturday. They had an incredibly quick turnaround and were also forced to find a way to replace another weapon in the passing game after losing Tank Dell to a significant knee injury Saturday, their second such injury to a key receiver this season.
But Baltimore also played on the same turnaround, following up a 34-17 win over Pittsburgh with an even more dominant showing on Christmas. They're not as banged up offensively but dealt with the same scheduling adversity as the Texans and looked like the superior team.
Stroud knows he didn't play well in the game, struggling with accuracy while completing 17 of 31 passes for 185 yards and an interception four days after throwing two picks in the loss to the Chiefs. If he's looking for a scapegoat, he can find one by simply looking in the mirror.
"Yeah, that's exactly right," Stroud said. "Terrible on my behalf. Probably one of my worst games of my whole career. Just came out flat. Didn't have any energy. Didn't lead the offense the way I should have. Always got to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself and not good enough today. You know, it is what it is. Can't hang my head down, but just got to keep going."
It's been a difficult season for Stroud, who has been under constant duress behind a leaky offensive line. Describing the front five as embattled would be putting it nicely, and their lack of consistent protection has had a noticeable effect on Stroud's performance in 2024. The Texans bottomed out Wednesday, entering Baltimore's red zone just twice and turning it over on downs both times.
2024 has been significantly worse for Stroud than his Offensive Rookie of the Year campaign in 2023. Even his accuracy -- Stroud's greatest strength -- suffered in the loss Wednesday, leading reporters to ask about the differences between '23 and '24.
"You tell me. You know, I mean, I think I've tried to approach the game the same way I did and I think I'm seeing it better than I ever have. Just a little banged up so not really making plays," Stroud said. "That's a terrible excuse. But really just not making plays. That's really the difference between last year and this year for me. Just not making enough plays.
"There are times where the plays are to be made and there are guys open and I got to find a way to make the play work, do something just that I'm capable of doing, you know, winning us a football game. That's really up to me to lead our team in those times where guys are open, and ultimately it's just me making plays. That's really how I look at the difference between this year and last year, which can be fixed."
The good news is the time isn't now for looking closely at what needs to be fixed. Houston is headed to the postseason as the AFC South champions. But Wednesday's loss was undoubtedly disconcerting, especially with only one week left to play and a playoff field filled with teams matching Baltimore's caliber.
If the Texans want to avoid an ugly first-round exit, they'll need to correct the many things that went wrong Wednesday, and do so quickly.
"I think you come back fired up and showing that's not who we are," coach DeMeco Ryans said. "At the end of the day, that's not who we are. That's not what we represent, what we put out there on the field today. That's not Texans football.
"For anybody to come back and bounce back from it, you got to check yourself and make sure you're playing with elite execution and elite energy to go out and make the plays we need to make to win the game. It all starts with a self-check and then we go from there."
