C.J.Stroud

News: 1 day agoStroud acknowledge his poise faltered against Kansas City's aggressive defense in the second half of Sunday's win over the Chiefs, Sam Warren of the Houston Chronicle reports. "I think that's something I can get better at, just being calm in the chaos," Stroud said. "Pressure, guys flying at your feet, hitting you after the whistle or whatever the case may be. I just want to be able to put my team in better positions."

Spin: Lost among Houston's fifth straight victory and dominating defensive effort was the offense's second-half struggles to move the ball. After leaping to a 10-0 lead at halftime, the Texans totaled 67 yards (2.0 yards per play) in the final 30 minutes with four consecutive three-and-outs as the Chiefs dialed up blitz after blitz. Houston's defense set up a couple of short fields in the fourth quarter, which produced the final 10 points and secured the win. Stroud's performance against the pressure is somewhat surprising, given his 60.3 percent completion percentage against pressure heading into the game was the best of his career and better than most quarterbacks this season. In Week 15, Stroud faces the Cardinals, who rank 12th in blitzing (25.1 percent) but only 27th in pressures (18.3 percent) and sacks (24) through 13 games.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Stroud enters his third NFL season looking for a rebound following a bit of a step back in 2024. Stroud had one of the best seasons ever by a rookie QB in 2023 (12th in QBR, eighth in pass yards, ninth in fantasy PPG), but he plummeted to 26th in QBR, 14th in pass yards and 28th in PPG last season. He opened the season with two seventh-place fantasy weeks in his first four games, but proceeded to finish 14th or worse each of the 13 remaining weeks. He reached 20 fantasy points only once (Week 4). Still only 23, Stroud is still on the ascent, but he'll need to produce more through the air in order to offset mild-to-moderate rushing contributions. He's best viewed as a serviceable QB2 with limited upside.