<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/houston-texans/texans-news-cj-strouds-limited-otas-worries-nfl-insider');   ga('set', 'title', 'CJ Stroud’s limited Texans OTAs ‘worries’ NFL Insider');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/741263911-cj-stroud.jpg"><figcaption>Denny Medley-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>CJ Stroud’s limited Texans OTAs ‘worries’ NFL Insider</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-09T18:31:54-07:00">June 9th, 6:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-09T18:32:14-07:00">June 9th, 6:32pm</time><address><a>Jake Faigus</a>Jake Faigus graduated from the University of Arizona in 2022 and has written for several publications and websites. He has had stops at Catena Media, Playmaker, DraftKings, USA Today, Spike Up, and Spotlight Sports Group. He also writes for Sporting News and works at iHeartMedia in Phoenix when he is not writing for ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans made some moves this offseason to revamp their roster and stay atop the AFC South. They won their second straight division title, and as mini-camp gets ready to start, the focus has been on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/houston-texans/texans-most-blame-divisional-round-loss-chiefs">getting over the hump in the Divisional Round of the postseason</a>. However, as things start, C.J. Stroud will not be throwing, as <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/will-c-j-stroud-throw-will-nick-chubb-be-there-key-questions-facing-texans-ahead-of-minicamp/ar-AA1GnYQ5" rel="noopener">he didn’t throw during OTAs either</a>.</p><p>The issue is that Stroud has been dealing with shoulder soreness, which has kept him out of the Texans’ offseason workout programs. Stroud has started doing more as mini-camp has begun, but he’s still been limited. Stroud’s lack of offseason workouts has concerned former Super Bowl champion and ESPN NFL analyst Damien Woody, who spoke about Stroud’s <a href="https://x.com/ESPNNFL/status/1932175431400046826" rel="noopener">lack of offseason training</a> on Monday’s edition of NFL Live.</p><p>“They haven’t played a game since January, and your quarterback is not throwing in the offseason – no contact? To me, that’s red flags everywhere,” Woody said.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

CJ Stroud’s limited Texans OTAs ‘worries’ NFL Insider

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nfl/houston-texans/texans-news-houston-drafts-stefon-diggs-replacement-cj-stroud-weapon');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans draft potential Stefon Diggs replacement as new CJ Stroud weapon');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Jayden-Higgins_0b1000.jpg"><figcaption>Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Texans draft potential Stefon Diggs replacement as new CJ Stroud weapon</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-25T16:59:33-07:00">April 25th, 4:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-25T16:59:33-07:00">April 25th, 4:59pm</time><address><a>Troy Finnegan</a>Troy Finnegan is a Senior Editor and College Sports Lead at ClutchPoints. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023 with a degree in journalism and minors in communications and sports media, as well as a critical sports studies certificate. He has had a passion for sports his entire life, and enjoys covering and writing about all sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans are one of the most intriguing teams of this offseason after a relatively disappointing season in 2024, despite still winning the AFC South and making it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. This offseason, Houston let Stefon Diggs walk to the New England Patriots and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/texans-news-laremy-tunsil-breaks-silence-trade-commanders">traded star left tackle Laremy Tunsil to the Washington Commanders</a>.</p><p>Many mock drafts projected an offensive lineman in the first round to the Texans at pick No. 25 to replace Tunsil, but they had other ideas. Houston traded out of the first round, allowing the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/eli-manning-welcomes-fellow-ole-miss-qb-jaxson-dart-to-giants">New York Giants to come up and get Jaxson Dart</a>.</p><p>Houston finally made its first pick of the draft on Friday night at No. 34, using that selection to get CJ Stroud <a href="https://x.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1915906634720985167" rel="noopener">another pass catcher</a>. The Texans scooped up Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins with their first pick.</p><p>The Texans can now pair Higgins with Nico Collins and Tank Dell, whenever he is ready to return from injury. After Diggs left in free agency, Houston has now added a third wide receiver to the room to give Stroud ample weapons to throw to.</p><p>Higgins is a big body who will be able to man the outside, allowing Houston to move Collins around. If the Texans want to bump the superstar into the slot, Higgins is still the type of guy who can win on the outside and make contested catches. In 2024, Higgins caught 87 balls for 1,183 yards and nine touchdowns for a very good Iowa State team. He reeled in over 2,000 yards in total in his two seasons in Ames.</p><p>Time will tell if Higgins can be a reliable weapon for the Texans. He struggled to get separation at times and didn’t run a super diverse route tree in college, so he could be limited in the ways that the Texans can use him. However, going to a team with established stars at the position should allow him to play a role that he can excel at early on.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans draft potential Stefon Diggs replacement as new CJ Stroud weapon

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/commanders-news-jayden-daniels-best-rookie-year-label-cj-stroud');   ga('set', 'title', 'Commanders’ Jayden Daniels gets ‘best rookie year’ label from CJ Stroud');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jayden-Daniels-gets-best-rookie-year-label-from-CJ-Stroud.jpg"></figure><h1>Commanders’ Jayden Daniels gets ‘best rookie year’ label from CJ Stroud</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-20T11:37:06-08:00">January 20th, 11:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-20T11:37:06-08:00">January 20th, 11:37am</time><address><a href="https://matthew516sports.substack.com/">Douglas Fritz</a>Douglas Fritz has been writing about sports for almost four decades and publishes a Christian sports newsletter and podcast on Substack at Matthew516Sports. He started as a reporter for the student newspaper at East Tennessee State University, worked his way up to Editor-In-Chief, and began his sports writing career at the Johnson City Press daily newspaper while still in college. During 30-plus years at the Press, he covered University of Tennessee football, men's and women's basketball, ETSU athletics, and high school athletics. Among the people he has interviewed are Dale Murphy, Bobby Cox, John Smoltz, and Bruce Smith. He is also a Christian-based screenwriter (five feature-length and one short), book writer (three completed manuscripts and one novel), and songwriter.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Commanders head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/commanders-news-dan-quinn-lit-lions-fans-wild-win">Dan Quinn gave his props to the Lions fans</a> but still must deal with the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/commanders-news-sam-cosmi-message-brutal-injury">bad injury news about Sam Cosmi</a>. However, Jayden Daniels got a “<a href="https://x.com/Schultz_Report/status/1881414219926843473" rel="noopener">best rookie year</a>” label from Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, according to a post on X by Jordan Schultz.</p><p><i>“In my opinion he’s had the best rookie year of all time. … I don’t root for many other teams, but I’m rooting for my boy. I’m rooting for the Commanders.”</i></p><p>Daniels totaled 350 yards of offense, throwing for 299 and two scores as the Commanders beat the Lions 45-31 in the Divisional Round. They will be in their first NFC Championship game since 1991 when they take on the Eagles on Sunday at 3 p.m.</p><h2><b>Commanders QB Jayden Daniels still excelling</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Washington-Commanders-QB-Jayden-Daniels_e17e65.jpg"><figcaption>Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After a string of games where he made last-second plays to secure wins, Daniels helped his team turn in a rare two-score victory. And Stroud walked away impressed by Daniels. Both players are from Southern California.</p><p>“That boy goin’ crazy,” Stroud said. “I’m so happy for that dude. It’s not only just from him, but the motivation he’s giving back home where we come from. Dude, you have no idea. First two to do it (as NFL quarterbacks) that I can think of. It’s big time, giving kids back home hope. That they can do it, too.</p><p>“Everybody knows from home we ain’t perfect. We probably aren’t even the best athletes where we come from. If you stay at it … you can really do this at the highest level.”</p><p>Daniels’ poise in key moments of games has <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/dan-quinn-jayden-daniels-poise-in-winning-moments-is-contagious-for-commanders#:~:text=Commanders%20coach%20Dan%20Quinn%20said,via%20the%20team's%20official%20transcript." rel="noopener">helped the other players</a>, said Commanders head coach Dan Quinn, according to a team transcript via nfl.com.</p><p>“Jayden has such poise in these winning time moments and that is contagious as well,” Quinn said.  “We were talking earlier with one of the coaches, he has such poise and one of my friends that I coached with in the nineties at Hofstra was (former NCAA basketball national champion head coach) Jay Wright. It made me think of the championship game between Villanova and UNC. And if you watch, there’s a clip of Jay right before the three-point shot goes off, he says ‘bang,’ turns and walks to shake one of the guy’s hands.</p><p>“And Jayden has poise in these moments where he doesn’t go wild after or lose his cool. He just has real poise in (those) spots and it’s the same whether it went well or didn’t and that’s really hard to do. And so having poise in those moments, that’s a really big thing. Because the other players see it and feel it and they have it in those moments as well. We practice it a lot, but it looks like we practice these moments a lot. And Jayden in those spaces, he is just very much, bang, onto the next one. And going and that’s a really cool quality to have.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Commanders’ Jayden Daniels gets ‘best rookie year’ label from CJ Stroud

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/chiefs-news-texans-cj-stroud-concerned-seeing-latest-injury-report');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans’ CJ Stroud will be concerned seeing latest Chiefs’ injury report');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Chiefs-news-CJ-Stroud-will-be-concerned-seeing-latest-Kansas-City-injury-report.jpg"></figure><h1>Texans’ CJ Stroud will be concerned seeing latest Chiefs’ injury report</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-16T22:28:59-08:00">January 16th, 10:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-16T22:38:17-08:00">January 16th, 10:38pm</time><address><a>Richard Pereira</a>Richard Pereira joined ClutchPoints in January 2025 as an Associate Editor. He earned his degree from Florida Atlantic University in 2023 and has been covering the school's athletic programs since 2020, having served as a Sports Editor at the FAU University Press. He was granted the unique opportunity to report on the men's basketball team's journey to the Final Four in Houston for FAU Owls Nest during March Madness, consistently striving to grow as a sports journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-cj-stroud-reveals-recent-matchup-chiefs-helps-playoff-battle">upcoming matchup between CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans against Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs</a> for the AFC Divisional Round will be big. And the home side got a significant update involving one of their players in the secondary.</p><p>The Chiefs <a href="https://x.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1880099689934254352" rel="noopener">plan to activate</a> cornerback Jaylen Watson from injury reserve and play him against the Texans, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Fowler. He was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chiefs-news-kansas-city-huge-jaylen-watson-injury-move">sidelined due to a fractured ankle</a> in late October.</p><p>“@ByNateTaylor first on Watson’s expected return to starting lineup. Chiefs could monitor snaps depending how he’s feeling/playing. But he’s a go,” Fowler wrote.</p><p>Before the injury, Watson made six starts as he broke up six passes. In his absence, the Chiefs split duties between Nazeeh Johnson and Joshua Williams as they paired with starting cornerback opposite Trent McDuffie.</p><h2><b>Why CJ Stroud will have trouble against Chiefs’ defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Jaylen-Watson.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s a huge move for the Kansas City Chiefs to make before their matchup against CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans.</p><p>Head coach Andy Reid believes that Watson <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/source-chiefs-plan-to-activate-cb-jaylen-watson-off-ir/ar-AA1xkvfA?ocid=BingNewsSerp" rel="noopener">will make his impact known</a> once he’s out on the field, though he will be steady on the number of game reps he gives to the returning cornerback.</p><p>“He’s worked tremendously hard to get himself to this point, first of all, and we will just see how that goes as far as the game reps and all that. But he sure has worked hard to get himself even to this point right here,” Reid said.</p><p>It will also mark the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chiefs-news-stars-good-for-playoff-clash-texans" rel="noopener">first time the Chiefs’ defense will be fully healthy</a> this season, as expressed by defensive end Charles Omenihu.</p><p>“This is going to be the first time everybody on the defense is healthy and playing,” Omenihu <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6065407/2025/01/16/chiefs-defense-playoffs-jaylen-watson/" rel="noopener">said Wednesday</a>, per The Athletic. “It’s going to be good. … We’ll be ready to go.”</p><p>Putting Watson out on the field could spell trouble to CJ Stroud’s plans, especially if he were to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-x-factor-chiefs-2025-nfl-playoffs-not-cj-stroud">rely on star receiver Nico Collins to catch a lot</a> of passes throughout the course of the game. Collins made seven catches for 122 yards and a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers in the AFC Wild Card, meaning the Chiefs will use all the cards they have to contain him.</p><p>Fighting for a spot in the AFC Championship for the third consecutive year, the Chiefs will host the Texans at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans’ CJ Stroud will be concerned seeing latest Chiefs’ injury report

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-reveals-recent-matchup-chiefs-helps-playoff-battle');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans’ CJ Stroud reveals how recent matchup with Chiefs helps ahead of playoff battle');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/0CJ-Stroud-reveals-how-recent-matchup-with-Chiefs-helps-ahead-of-playoff-battle0.jpg"></figure><h1>Texans’ CJ Stroud reveals how recent matchup with Chiefs helps ahead of playoff battle</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-16T09:47:41-08:00">January 16th, 9:47am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-16T09:51:58-08:00">January 16th, 9:51am</time><address><a>Derek Hryn</a>Derek Hryn is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints specializing in NFL and NCAA Football coverage. Derek was previously a fantasy football expert at DK and SB Nation, and he has been featured at FanSided, USA Today, NBC Sports, The New York Post, and others.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans have <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/houston-texans-bold-predictions-divisional-round-vs-chiefs">moved on to the AFC Divisional round</a> in the 2024-25 NFL playoffs, but they have a bigger task awaiting in the Kansas City Chiefs. CJ Stroud is ready for <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/c-j-stroud-it-definitely-helps-that-we-recently-played-the-chiefs" rel="noopener">a redemption shot</a> against <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/kansas-city-chiefs-bold-predictions-divisional-round-vs-texans">Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs</a>, after the Texans lost 27-19 on December 21.</p><p>“You definitely have to go back and see things that worked and things that didn’t work and I think that definitely helps playing them so recently,” Stroud said, per Myles Simmons of NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk. “But they also have that advantage as well, so we still have to be able to have a new game plan and do things that are new. It definitely does help to see a familiar team again and they do a lot of great things. We didn’t really see a whole bunch of it, I think there are some exotic things so I wouldn’t be surprised if that stuff started to show up.</p><p>“It definitely does help that we have seen them not too long ago.”</p><p>Stroud remembers that the Texans were no slouch against Kansas City in their previous matchup, and they arguably could’ve had a different result if more went their way in the second half.</p><h2><b>Texans’ CJ Stroud could show his best self in Divisional round</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CJ-Stroud-1.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s goes without saying that the Texans have endured a share of setbacks this season. They lost their top offseason pickup in Stefon Diggs after just eight games, Nico Collins missed five regular-season games because of a hamstring injury suffered in Week 6, and Tank Dell to a serious leg injury against the Chiefs.</p><p>“You watch them growing up and dreaming of the moments to be sharing that field and be competing in those moments,” Stroud said. “So, I am very excited and ready to roll but you have to have a good week of preparation. But I am definitely exited for it.”</p><p>Ahead of Stroud’s second consecutive career Divisional round appearance, the 23-year-old quarterback is eager to perform on the big stage. This time, hopefully with the victory.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans’ CJ Stroud reveals how recent matchup with Chiefs helps ahead of playoff battle

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-x-factor-chiefs-2025-nfl-playoffs-not-cj-stroud');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans X-factor vs. Chiefs in 2025 NFL Playoffs, and it’s not CJ Stroud');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Texans-X-factor-vsChiefs-in-2025-NFL-Playoffsand-its-not.jpg"></figure><h1>Texans X-factor vs. Chiefs in 2025 NFL Playoffs, and it’s not CJ Stroud</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-13T10:13:56-08:00">January 13th, 10:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-13T10:13:56-08:00">January 13th, 10:13am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans have never been to the AFC Championship Game. Their franchise’s history started with brutal regular seasons and has been highlighted by abysmal Divisional Round losses lately. They were home underdogs <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chargers-news-chargers-hc-jim-harbaugh-somber-salute-texans-after-loss">against the Chargers in the Wild Card Round</a> and dominated on defense. Now they hit the road to face the Kansas City Chiefs looking to slay some demons. Nico Collins is the key to victory, not CJ Stroud.</p><p>Stroud is certainly important, as the quarterback is in every game. He was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-texans-heroes-in-nfl-playoffs-blowout-vs-chargers">solid against the Chargers with 22 completions for 282 yards</a>, one touchdown, and an interception. His offensive line was brutal all season but stood up well in that game. They will be a big part of the game plan for the Texans against the Chiefs. But the biggest key is Collins, who dominated the Wild Card game and needs to do it again.</p><p>Collins is in his fourth year with the Texans and has solidified himself as a top receiver in the NFL over the past two seasons. With back-to-back 1000-yard seasons, even with injuries, he has lifted the offense, along with Stroud. His seminal moment came on Saturday when he went for 122 yards on seven catches and added a touchdown. Without him, they would never have beaten the Chargers.</p><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chiefs-news-patrick-mahomes-emerges-2025-super-bowl-mvp-favorite">Chiefs won 15 games in the regular season</a> but did not have the high-flying offense that they have been known for in the past. Their defense is what led them through the first portion of the season and will have to do so again on Saturday. That will be the biggest challenge for Collins, who has lived up to every challenge presented to him in two years.</p><h2><b>Can Nico Collins lead the Texans to victory?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Nico-Collins-with-Houston-Texans-1.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The attention is on Collins partly because he was one of the best receivers in the league this season. But the Texans have lost the next two receivers on their depth chart to season-ending injuries. Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs are not out there to take away coverage from Collins. That did not matter against the Chargers but could against a solid Chiefs secondary.</p><p>Everything that the Chiefs plan for on defense should be centered around Collins. Stroud is not a dynamic runner and there are very few secondary options for him to throw to. Trent McDuffie and Justin Reid will be leaned on heavily to cover Collins while the rest of the defense focuses on Joe Mixon.</p><p>Collins is the key to the offense but the Texans’ defense has been dominant in recent weeks. They picked off Justin Herbert four times and returned one for a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes is not prone to those mistakes so that is not a plan they can lean on. The Chiefs do not force a ton of turnovers on defense though, so that could still be a place they gain an advantage.</p><p>The Chiefs started their dynasty with Tyreek Hill and prime Travis Kelce catching the ball. But with Kelce nearing retirement and Xavier Worthy struggling to assimilate into the NFL, they do not have the weapons they once did. Collins will be the best receiver in this game and should make his presence known.</p><p>The Texans are 7.5-<a href="https://sportsbook.fanduel.com/football/nfl/houston-texans-@-kansas-city-chiefs-33922540?tab=receiving-props" rel="noopener">point underdogs on</a> FanDuel and +350 on the money line. If the Texans win, it would not only be their first trip to the AFC Championship Game but the first time Patrick Mahomes failed to make it that far. Collins is +190 to score a touchdown and his yards total is 80.5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans X-factor vs. Chiefs in 2025 NFL Playoffs, and it’s not CJ Stroud

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-delivers-words-of-wisdom-after-wild-card-win-over-chargers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans’ CJ Stroud delivers words of wisdom after Wild Card win over Chargers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Texans-news-CJ-Stroud-delivers-words-of-wisdom-after-Wild-Card-win-over-Chargers.jpg?w=1024"></figure><h1>Texans’ CJ Stroud delivers words of wisdom after Wild Card win over Chargers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-11T20:24:18-08:00">January 11th, 8:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-12T08:59:17-08:00">January 12th, 8:59am</time><address><a href="https://linktr.ee/jordan.llanes">Jordan Llanes</a>Jordan Llanes is a sports writer and reporter based in Florida. In addition to ClutchPoints, he writes for a few other publications covering the NFL, college sports and Tottenham Hotspur. When he's not writing, Jordan enjoys spending time with his fiancée, cats, family and friends, as well as catching the latest TV shows and movies, and traveling.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/5-texans-heroes-in-nfl-playoffs-blowout-vs-chargers">Houston Texans’ season will continue,</a> as they defeated the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 in Saturday’s Wild Card opener. The defense intercepted Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert four times. His counterpart, CJ Stroud, threw for just under 300 yards and a touchdown in the victory. He also had <a href="https://x.com/NFLonCBS/status/1878250635692240987" rel="noopener">some words of wisdom</a> alongside teammate Derek Stingley Jr. in a post-game interview with CBS.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish."</p><p>C.J. Stroud and a very giddy Derek Stingley Jr. caught up with <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanWashburn?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@EvanWashburn</a> after the <a href="https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HoustonTexans</a> Wild Card win <a href="https://t.co/80r2zZwrh7">pic.twitter.com/80r2zZwrh7</a></p><p>— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLonCBS/status/1878250635692240987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“‘It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish,’ C.J Stroud and a very giddy Derek Stingley Jr. caught up with @EvanWashburn after the @HoustonTexans Wild Card win,” posted the NFL on CBS account on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday.</p><p>Stingley Jr., who was the third overall pick in 2022, had two of the four interceptions. It was a notable achievement for Houston’s defense, as Herbert’s last interception on the road was back in Week Two. So, four months between picks on the road is a big deal. That is something that showed the Texans’ defenders came ready to play. That is an indictment of how well head coach DeMeco Ryans has his unit running as the postseason progresses. That improved play will help <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-demeco-ryans-revealed-what-changed-in-fourth-quarter-vs-chargers">keep Houston in the fight</a> as the weather gets colder and the opponents get tougher.</p><h2><b>C. J Stroud, Texans could face tough Divisional Round matchup</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Texans-QB-C.J-Stroud.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>If the Buffalo Bills beat the Denver Broncos tomorrow, then the Texans will play the top seeded Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. If the Broncos win, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-fatal-flaw-that-will-doom-them-in-2025-nfl-playoffs">then Houston will travel</a> to Baltimore to play the Ravens in a rematch of last year’s Divisional Round game. So, either matchup will be a tough one for the Texans. It will require the defense to play just as good, if not better, than they did on Saturday. The same with Stroud and the offense.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-joe-mixon-celebrates-team-effort-after-winning-nvp-vs-chargers">The Texans’ win today</a> did not come as a surprise, but they will be underdogs in almost every matchup moving forward. As talented as they are on paper, they aren’t as deep as the Ravens and Chiefs. It will come down to play calling and execution, something winning football teams do better than everyone else. Houston’s opponents have done it time and time again in the past. Can Ryans and his staff get Stroud and his teammates to that level? Come next weekend, the world will see, one way or another.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans’ CJ Stroud delivers words of wisdom after Wild Card win over Chargers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/chargers-news-ohio-state-fans-ridicule-jim-harbaugh-loss-cj-stroud');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ohio State fans ridicule Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh for loss to CJ Stroud');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ohio-State-fans-ridicule-Jim-Harbaugh-for-loss-to-CJ-Stroud.jpg"></figure><h1>Ohio State fans ridicule Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh for loss to CJ Stroud</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-11T18:56:33-08:00">January 11th, 6:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-11T18:57:32-08:00">January 11th, 6:57pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Ohio State football is enjoying <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ohio-state-football-news-ryan-day-credits-buckeyes-adversity-cfp-win">one heck of a turnaround</a>. Since losing to detested foe Michigan at the end of November, the Buckeyes are riding a three-game winning streak that has earned them a date with Notre Dame in the national championship. The good fortune is even carrying over into the NFL. Former Columbus great CJ Stroud finally bested head coach Jim Harbaugh, as his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-joe-mixon-celebrates-team-effort-after-winning-nvp-vs-chargers">Houston Texans defeated the Los Angeles Chargers</a>, 32-12, to advance in the NFL playoffs.</p><p>Harbaugh, who deserves some recognition for his regular season efforts with the Chargers, was the source of much anguish for Buckeyes fans during the last few years. The ex-Michigan HC beat Stroud and Ohio State two straight times (was suspended for the 2023 matchup, but Wolverines prevailed anyway) and won a national championship last season. He spurred a seismic shift in the rivalry.</p><p>The tide could be turning once more, however. Although Ryan Day is 1-4 versus Michigan in his career, he and his squad are one victory away from regaining collegiate supremacy. A devastating loss might actually serve as the impetus for an all-time run for the program.</p><p>Nevertheless, Columbus is itching to directly get the upper hand on Ann Arbor. Stroud gave the community the closest thing it can have to genuine bragging rights until at least next season. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chargers-news-justin-herbert-wild-card-stat-trouble-la-fans">Texans’ defense and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert</a> did their part to make it happen, too, though.</p><p>Scarlet and Grey supporters celebrated Harbaugh’s early playoffs exit, elevating their already potent state of euphoria.</p><h2><b>OSU fans savor Jim Harbaugh’s blowout defeat</b></h2><p>“Ohio State playing for a natty and Stroud beating Jim Harbaugh… I use to pray for times like these,” <a href="https://x.com/BassMaster_5/status/1878245534382559715" rel="noopener">@BassMaster_5 exclaimed on X</a>. “Ohio State is going to the National Championship and Jim Harbaugh is getting his ass kicked in the first round of the playoffs by CJ Stroud!” <a href="https://x.com/DynastyCLE/status/1878237551380545997" rel="noopener">@DynastyCLE posted</a>.</p><p>With Ohio State toppling Texas on Friday this is a two-day stretch fans will truly cherish, even more so if they can watch their team bring home the title on Jan. 20. “Tough weekend for Michigan fans,” <a href="https://x.com/meshconcept/status/1878239160374288841" rel="noopener">@meshconcept said</a>. “First, they watch Ohio State advance to the national championship game…. then their lord and savior Jim Harbaugh gets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by CJ Stroud.”</p><h2><b>Chargers stumble after solid start vs. Texans</b></h2><p>The Texans entered the postseason with much skepticism surrounding them, and the game did not start on a promising note. Herbert led the Chargers to a field goal on the opening drive and a turnover resulted in three more points on the subsequent possession. Houston broke through at the end of the first half, however. Stroud fired a 13-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins, a former Michigan talent whose big outing (122 yards, one TD) will probably go unacknowledged by most Buckeye supporters.</p><p>Stroud, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, completed 22 of his 33 passes for 282 yards and the aforementioned touchdown (one interception). But Matt Burke’s defense was the true hero of the AFC Wild Card showdown. All-pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. snagged two picks, Kamari Lassiter recorded another and Eric Murray returned one 38 yards back to the end zone. The Texans’ front-seven feasted as well, sacking Herbert four times.</p><p>It was an absolute nightmare for the fifth-year QB and Jim Harbaugh. But it was a dream for Ohio State football. They will cheer on their guy Stroud in the divisional round before gearing up for the Fighting Irish.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ohio State fans ridicule Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh for loss to CJ Stroud

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-ugly-interception-chargers-harsh-criticism');   ga('set', 'title', 'CJ Stroud’s ugly interception vs. Chargers draws harsh criticism');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CJ-Strouds-ugly-interception-vs.-Chargers-draws-harsh-criticism.png"></figure><h1>CJ Stroud’s ugly interception vs. Chargers draws harsh criticism</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-11T15:13:18-08:00">January 11th, 3:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-12T09:02:09-08:00">January 12th, 9:02am</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans easily won the eminently winnable AFC South with a 10-7 record. Yet despite earning the right to host a playoff game in the Wild Card round, former coach turned commentator <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-joe-mixon-reacts-rex-ryan-comment-chargers-getting-bye">Rex Ryan equated the matchup to a bye</a> for the visiting Los Angeles Chargers. In the first half of Saturday afternoon’s game the Texans have done enough to prove Ryan wrong but, despite an early lead, quarterback C.J. Stroud threw one of the <a href="https://x.com/barstoolsports/status/1878208055210598826" rel="noopener">worst interceptions</a> you’ll ever see.</p><p>Early in the second quarter, facing a third and seven, Stroud lobbed a pass toward the sideline without a Texans’ receiver in sight. There were, however, three Chargers’ defenders in the vicinity and third-year cornerback Deane Leonard came down with the pick.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">CJ Stroud is seeing ghosts<a href="https://t.co/WYEMaXyMJ3">pic.twitter.com/WYEMaXyMJ3</a></p><p>— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1878208055210598826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The egregious toss was immediately met with scrutiny on social media. “CJ Stroud is seeing ghosts,” Barstool Sports posted on X. Barstool also compared Stroud’s disappointing second year in the league to a man riding in a garbage can.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">CJ Stroud in Year 2</p><p> <a href="https://t.co/uteTFkVxlC">pic.twitter.com/uteTFkVxlC</a></p><p>— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) <a href="https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1878207995412169049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Underdog NFL commented that Stroud found Leonard <a href="https://x.com/Underdog__NFL/status/1878207959261430249" rel="noopener">wide open</a>, which is true but the two play on different teams.</p><h2><b>Texans’ QB C.J. Stroud had an ugly interception against the Chargers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CJ-Stroud.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Despite the criticism, the ugly interception didn’t hurt the Texans as Chargers’ quarterback Justin Herbert threw a pick of his own on the very next play. The turnover squandered an excellent scoring opportunity for LA, after Stroud gave the team the ball at Houston’s 40 yard line.</p><p>After bursting onto the scene in 2023, throwing for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five interceptions and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud suffered a sophomore slump. This season he passed for 3,727 yards with 20 TDs and 12 picks.</p><p>Still, Stroud has the Texans back in the playoffs, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-fatal-flaw-that-will-doom-them-in-2025-nfl-playoffs">despite a flawed offense</a>. And he was able to overcome the early miscue, leading a scoring drive that gave Houston a 7-6 lead with just under a minute to play in the first half. The Texans then took a 10-6 lead with a field goal prior to halftime.</p><p>So far Stroud has gone 14/23 for 180 yards with one touchdown and, of course, one horrible interception.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

CJ Stroud’s ugly interception vs. Chargers draws harsh criticism

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/panthers-news-cj-strouds-heartfelt-message-bryce-young-revitalizing-career');   ga('set', 'title', 'CJ Stroud’s heartfelt message on Bryce Young revitalizing career');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CJ-Strouds-heartfelt-message-on-Bryce-Young-revitalizing-career.jpg"></figure><h1>CJ Stroud’s heartfelt message on Bryce Young revitalizing career</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-06T18:58:24-08:00">January 6th, 6:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-06T18:58:24-08:00">January 6th, 6:58pm</time><address><a>Daniel Locke</a>Daniel Locke covers the New Orleans Pelicans and is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints. He will graduate from Auburn University with a degree in Journalism in May. Daniel has covered Auburn Athletics for the entirety of his time as a student, focusing on football, men's basketball, and baseball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Carolina Panthers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young has had an up-and-down NFL career so far but has stepped up his game after being benched for Andy Dalton earlier this season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/panthers-news-bryce-youngs-message-panthers-identity-win-vs-cardinals">Young led the Panthers</a> to four of their five wins after reclaiming the starting job.</p><p>Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud <a href="https://x.com/avl_mike/status/1876039137951948800" rel="noopener">had an uplifting message</a> for Young following each of their Week 18 wins.</p><p>“I’m so happy for him,” Stroud said. “The guys around him will rally around him. He’s leading them and doing what he has to do to make plays. I’m happy for him… it inspires me to keep going. I’m always a big fan of his, I always will be. That’s a brother of mine and it’s good to hear that. I’ll probably watch the highlights when I get on the bus.”</p><p>Young had one of his best performances in the Panthers’ 44-38 overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. He went 25-of-34 on passing attempts for 251 yards and three touchdowns. One of the touchdowns came on an impressive pass that even <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-stephen-curry-reacts-bryce-youngs-epic-lookaway-td-panthers-falcons">caught the attention of Steph Curry</a>.</p><p>The Panthers were a resilient group in 2024 and put forth their best effort, even when the season looked completely hopeless. Young’s perseverance played a role in the Panthers maintaining focus.</p><h2><b>Could the Panthers take a step forward in 2025?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Bryce-Young.jpg"><figcaption>Brett Davis-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Panthers have not exactly been the gold standard in the NFL lately. They have not had a winning season since 2017 when they went 11-5 and lost to the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card round. The Panthers have only had two seven-win seasons since then, coming in 2018 and 2022. Needless to say, the Panthers are desperate to return to their winning ways.</p><p>With Bryce Young playing at a higher level toward the end of the season, the Panthers are confident in his ability to lead the franchise moving forward. Having a talented quarterback in place is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, meaning the Panthers could be close to breaking through.</p><p>2025 could be the year things finally fall into place for the team that has been the bottom feeder in the NFC South for nearly a decade.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

CJ Stroud’s heartfelt message on Bryce Young revitalizing career

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-reacts-fans-booing-texans-embarrassing-loss-ravens');   ga('set', 'title', 'CJ Stroud reacts to fans booing during Texans embarrassing loss to Ravens');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Texans-news-CJ-Stroud-reacts-to-fans-booing-during-embarrassing-loss-to-Ravens.jpg"></figure><h1>CJ Stroud reacts to fans booing during Texans embarrassing loss to Ravens</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-26T09:01:02-08:00">December 26th, 9:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-26T09:01:02-08:00">December 26th, 9:01am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. A die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic, Brayden further channels his baseball enthusiasm through his podcast, where he delves into the latest in sports with engaging commentary. He also serves as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School. His commitment to sports journalism is evident in his diverse experiences with ContraCosta.news and his dedication to delivering compelling and insightful content.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Baltimore Ravens</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-tytus-howard-concerned-despite-blowout-christmas-day-loss-ravens">Houston Texans had a Christmas Day performance to forget</a>, falling 31-2 to the Baltimore Ravens in a game where their offense failed to score any points. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, who has struggled in his second season compared to his rookie campaign, faced boos from the home crowd. After the game, Stroud <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/c-j-stroud-on-texans-fans-booing-i-understand-people-are-entitled-to-their-opinion" rel="noopener">addressed the criticism</a> with a level-headed perspective.</p><p>“People are entitled to their opinions, and they care about the game,” Stroud said, acknowledging the fans’ reaction. “Their emotions matter, so I understand. This is not my first time, and it probably won’t be my last. It’s something you can use to motivate yourself, to not want those moments anymore.”</p><p>Stroud’s performance against the Ravens was emblematic of a season that <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/c-j-stroud-its-all-about-how-we-respond" rel="noopener">hasn’t lived up to his stellar rookie year</a>. He completed just <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/43157966/baltimore-ravens-lamar-jackson-houston-texans-christmas-game" rel="noopener">17 of 32 passes</a> for 160 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Baltimore’s defense dominated, sacking Stroud five times and forcing him into hurried throws.</p><h2><b>Texans get embarrassed at home on Christmas</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CJ-Stroud.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>“I just kept missing. I wasn’t making throws,” Stroud admitted. His regression in key statistical categories—lower completion percentage, fewer touchdowns, and more interceptions—has been a notable storyline as the Texans prepare for the playoffs.</p><p>Despite the poor showing, Stroud remains optimistic about the team’s future. “It’s all about how you respond,” he said. “You hit rock bottom. The only way is up. We still have a lot of hope. Got to finish this year the right way against Tennessee. Hopefully, by that time we’re in a groove and rolling when the playoffs come.”</p><p>The Texans, now 10-6, have clinched the AFC South and will host a playoff game in the Wild Card round. However, their back-to-back losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and the Ravens highlighted the gap between the Texans and the AFC’s elite teams. Head coach DeMeco Ryans emphasized that the Texans need to rediscover their identity.</p><p>“Wednesday’s performance is not what we represent,” Ryans said. “We have to show who we are on the field. This was not our standard.”</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ravens-lamar-jackson-makes-jogging-quip-about-blazing-td-run">The Ravens, on the other hand, dominated with a relentless rushing attack</a> led by Derrick Henry’s 147 yards and Lamar Jackson’s 87 yards, including a record-breaking run that made Jackson the NFL’s all-time leading rushing quarterback. The Ravens’ defense held the Texans in check, allowing only a safety and sacking Stroud repeatedly.</p><p>For Stroud and the Texans, the focus now shifts to their regular-season finale against the Tennessee Titans. As Stroud noted, the team has an opportunity to rebound and build momentum heading into the postseason. “This is a rainy day,” Stroud said. “But at the end of the day, the sun will rise up tomorrow, and we have another crack at this thing next week.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

CJ Stroud reacts to fans booing during Texans embarrassing loss to Ravens

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/ravens-news-marlon-humphrey-breaks-down-how-baltimore-shut-down-cj-stroud-houston');   ga('set', 'title', 'Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey breaks down how Baltimore shut down CJ Stroud, Houston');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Ravens-news-Marlon-Humphrey-breaks-down-how-Baltimore-shut-down-CJ-Stroud-Houston.jpg"></figure><h1>Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey breaks down how Baltimore shut down CJ Stroud, Houston</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-25T20:40:01-08:00">December 25th, 8:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-25T20:40:01-08:00">December 25th, 8:40pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, The Needle Drop, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Baltimore Ravens</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Heading into Week 17, it seemed like the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ravens-vs-texans-prop-predictions-for-nfl-christmas-2024">Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans</a> were going to turn in an absolute classic for the millions of fans watching along from home on Netflix.</p><p>Two teams, one loaded with young talent, another with an established core desire to take that final step forward, would duke it out on a special Wednesday afternoon broadcast, and the winner would have one heck of a feather in their cap heading into the final week of the season.</p><p>And yet, that didn’t happen.</p><p>No, outside of getting two points on the board from a safety early in the second quarter, the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-demeco-ryans-calls-out-brutal-loss-to-ravens"> Texans were completely left off of the scoreboard</a>, with their offense struggling to even get into the redzone, let alone have a chance to put up anything on a Ravens defense known for making opposing teams one-dimensional.</p><p>Asked about how the Ravens performed in Week 17, cornerback Marlon Humphrey<a href="https://www.baltimoreravens.com/news/transcripts-press-conference-ravens-at-texans-week-17" rel="noopener"> celebrated his teammates</a> for coming together on the defensive side of the ball, noting that he mentioned to his defensive coordinator, Zach Orr, just how well they were playing in the middle of the contest.</p><p>Asked how it feels to see his team hold strong and win three straight games after their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, Humphrey celebrated the folks in the building as they all came together to get the win.</p><p>Sitting alone atop the AFC North at 11-5 following the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-mike-tomlin-embarrassing-christmas-day-loss-chiefs"> Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Kansas City Chiefs</a>, if the Ravens win in Week 18, they win the division, period. Without those three wins, that doesn’t happen.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Marlon-Humphrey_9ba32d.jpg"><figcaption>Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Ravens’ Marlon Humphrey breaks down how Baltimore shut down CJ Stroud, Houston

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-admits-terrible-excuse-for-poor-performance-vs-ravens');   ga('set', 'title', 'CJ Stroud admits ‘terrible excuse’ for poor performance vs. Ravens');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Texans-news-CJ-Stroud-admits-terrible-excuse-for-poor-performance-vs.-Ravens.jpg"></figure><h1>CJ Stroud admits ‘terrible excuse’ for poor performance vs. Ravens</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-25T18:12:09-08:00">December 25th, 6:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-25T18:14:44-08:00">December 25th, 6:14pm</time><address><a>Lorenzo J Reyna</a>Lorenzo J Reyna has joined ClutchPoints as Associate Editor of NFL &amp; NCAA Football. He's equipped with past experience for both realms through his recent stops at Pro Football Network and Heavy while also writing for 247Sports. His Twitter/X handle is @LJ_Reyna and his Instagram is @lj_zo_rey.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Texans and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nfl/players/adf60990/cj-stroud">C.J. Stroud</a> walked into NRG Stadium involved in a potential playoff preview. Stroud and the AFC South champs looked nothing like a team ready for the postseason. The QB himself admitted one “terrible excuse” involving the 31-2 embarrassment against the Baltimore Ravens.</p><p>The second-year QB finished 17-of-31 passing but settled for just 185 yards. He also took five sacks on the evening. Stroud, though, explained <a href="https://x.com/Cody_Stoots/status/1872089988936204633" rel="noopener">the reason behind his dismal performance</a>, per Texans reporter Cody Stoots of Houston football.</p><p>“C.J. Stroud said he’s a little banged up and not making the throws but then said ‘well that’s a terrible excuse,'” Stoots said. “Said he needs to start making plays and making the throws.”</p><p>Stroud clearly played without being at 100% against one of the AFC’s best teams.</p><h2><b>Did CJ Stroud play one of his worst games vs. Ravens?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CJ-Stroud-looks-up.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It’s not known what ailments were plaguing the Texans’ QB1 before the game. He did leave momentarily after one sack due to what looked like an arm injury. Still, he looked nothing like the dominating rookie of 2023.</p><p>Stroud misfired on multiple short passing attempts. Baltimore delivered a barrage of pressure to rattle Stroud.</p><p>Stroud never looked like a comfortable QB in front of his home fans. Or even in front of Houston native and legendary singer <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/beyonce-friends-halftime-show-naturally-star-netflix-ravens-texans-nfl-game">Beyonce, who provided the halftime entertainment</a>. But the Christmas day debacle adds to a string of disappointing moments for Stroud.</p><p>The Kansas City Chiefs intercepted him twice just four days ago. That was also the game that saw Stroud spill tears after losing teammate Tank Dell to a dislocated knee. Stroud’s endured other notable struggles this season.</p><p>He settled for only 131 yards in the 20-12 win over the Miami Dolphins on Dec. 15. Stroud got intercepted twice in the 32-27 upset loss to the Tennessee Titans back on Nov. 24. Defenses have picked him off twice in four games total. Worse for Stroud? The Houston QB only has two 300-yard performances this season and just one three-touchdown game.</p><p>The Texans remain playoff bound with Stroud behind center. Yet Wednesday’s debacle became one of the worst ’24 outings for Stroud. His QB rating dropped to 59.2 for the second time this season. He took the highest number of sacks since the eight the New York Jets snatched on Halloween against him. His QBR <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/4432577/cj-stroud" rel="noopener">even dipped to a season-worst 13.2</a>.</p><p>Stroud is blessed to head to two straight playoff appearances in his first two seasons. Christmas day, however, became nightmarish for the banged up QB.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

CJ Stroud admits ‘terrible excuse’ for poor performance vs. Ravens

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-cj-stroud-breaks-silence-on-his-reaction-to-tank-dells-gruesome-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans’ CJ Stroud breaks silence on his reaction to Tank Dell’s gruesome injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CJ-Stroud-breaks-silence-on-his-reaction-to-Tank-Dells-gruesome-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Texans’ CJ Stroud breaks silence on his reaction to Tank Dell’s gruesome injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-24T17:54:03-08:00">December 24th, 5:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-24T18:01:36-08:00">December 24th, 6:01pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, The Needle Drop, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>When <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-tank-dell-gets-significant-knee-injury-update-from-demeco-ryans">CJ Stroud threw a touchdown pass to Tank Dell</a> late in the Houston Texans’ eventual loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Ohio State product’s excitement immediately turned to heartbreak when his exciting young wide receiver didn’t get up after the play.</p><p>When word came to Stroud that Dell was injured, he couldn’t hide his reaction, breaking down into tears at the realization that his friend was not only going to miss the remainder of the season but would have to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-tank-dell-out-for-season-official-injury-diagnosis">spend the night in the hospital</a> instead of flying back home with the rest of the team.</p><p>Discussing what happened in the game and how it felt to have such a vulnerable moment in front of the world, Stroud didn’t run away from it, letting fans, media, and anyone who was willing to listen know that he was proud to show his vulnerability off to the world, as it’s good to show fans not to <a href="https://www.click2houston.com/sports/2024/12/24/how-a-saddened-cj-stroud-supports-injured-best-friend-tank-dell-embraces-emotions-its-easy-to-be-a-fake-tough-guy/" rel="noopener">shy away from the human factor</a>.</p><p>“I wouldn’t say I was second-guessing it, but it was just not easy for me to sit there and be emotional,” Stroud said. “But it’s something that we all go through in life and it’s easy to be a fake tough guy. It’s easy to go through life acting like everything doesn’t affect you,” CJ Stroud told reporters via Click2Houston.</p><p>“But, deep down, we all know we’re going through something and, for me, I think it’s good for young men and women out there, kids who are brought up and taught. I was taught this, too, as a kid, not from my parents, but just from the world of, ‘Don’t let anybody see you emotional. Don’t let anybody see you down.’ There’s some truth to that in certain aspects, but there’s also life and I think it was good to see people see me in that light and knowing that there is still a human factor to me. And I am a normal person.”</p><p>Interesting stuff, right? Well, wait, it gets even better, as Stroud had even more to say on the subject.</p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/CJ-Stroud-after-Tank-Dell-injury.jpg"><figcaption>Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h2><b>CJ Stroud wants to keep Tank Dell involved moving forward</b></h2><p>Discussing Dell’s injury further, Stroud noted that while the injury isn’t in his control, he hopes to keep Dell involved moving forward, as he’s still an important part of the team.</p><p>“To see something that he had really no control over and it’s not easy, so that’s where that comes from. And I think it’s just what God is doing in my life. He’s softening my heart in so many ways because I wouldn’t have done that, probably, last year. But just the new creation that I am in Christ, I’m constantly growing and just knowing who He is and reading his word. And me and Tank do a Bible study every week, at least twice a week,” Stroud told reporters.</p><p>“And I hope that we can continue to keep going with that. But there’s so much hope that we have and had and that stuff doesn’t go anywhere just because tragedy strikes. So, I believe that we’ll get past this. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it might be a long way to get there. And I think that was good for people to see that we’re just normal people at the end of the day.”</p><p>Though the perception has changed quite a bit over the years, sports is widely still viewed as a big, macho place where the only acceptable emotions are elation, excruciation, anger, and agony. To have a young quarterback in the middle of a playoff push declare for the world to hear that he is totally fine with showing his vulnerability to the world, crying on television for the world to see, really shows a maturity that is as fresh as it is respectable. No matter how the rest of the season shakes out, be it Super Bowl glory or a first-round exit, it’s safe to say Stroud has the maturity to handle it accordingly.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Texans’ CJ Stroud breaks silence on his reaction to Tank Dell’s gruesome injury

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/texans-news-cj-stroud-teammates-react-tank-dell-knee-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Texans’ CJ Stroud, Houston teammates react to Tank Dell’s scary knee injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Texans-news-CJ-Stroud-Houston-teammates-react-to-Tank-Dells-scary-knee-injury.jpg"></figure><h1>Texans’ CJ Stroud, Houston teammates react to Tank Dell’s scary knee injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-21T16:48:33-08:00">December 21st, 4:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-21T16:48:33-08:00">December 21st, 4:48pm</time><address><a>Dakota Zientek</a>Dakota Zientek graduated from the University of Iowa in 2020 and has been writing about the NFL ever since. As a die-hard NFL fan, Dakota's fandom rides with the Chicago Bears through thick and thin -- regardless of how much pain it has caused his heart throughout the years. One day, he believes he will celebrate the Bears winning a Super Bowl. Maybe even... a few?</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Texans</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a 27-19 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/chiefs-news-accomplishes-feat-not-seen-20-years-texans">loss to the Kansas City Chiefs</a> in Week 16, the Houston Texans lost much more than a football game. With Texans receiver <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-tank-dell-knee-injury-touchdown-chiefs">Tank Dell exiting the game on a cart</a> with an immobilization brace on his left leg, it was clear that their second-year receiver suffered a serious injury. Following the injury to a player like Dell, Texans quarterback CJ Stroud and the rest of his teammates had nothing but positive words to say, as the star receiver looks to bounce back from his second serious lower-body injury within two seasons.</p><p>One of the players who seemed to take this the hardest was Stroud, who shied away from hiding his emotions in the post-game press conference. However, he was grateful for the Chiefs’ hospitality, joining the Texans in an on-field prayer following Dell’s injury.</p><p>“It’s not easy seeing your brother go down like that,” Stroud said with a somber look stuck on his face. “No one on the field wants to see anybody get hurt or anything like that, so it was nice for [the Kansas City Chiefs] to say their prayers and to have a heart like that.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Texans</a> quarterback C.J. Stroud on loss of his friend, wide receiver Tank Dell, to terrible knee injury, and emotional situation for AFC South winners <a href="https://twitter.com/KPRC2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KPRC2</a> <a href="https://t.co/3huNWpdPfZ">pic.twitter.com/3huNWpdPfZ</a></p><p>— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1870603495528886534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Along with Stroud, running back Joe Mixon shared his thoughts on losing a teammate and brother like Dell.</p><p>“Obviously, it’s an unfortunate injury,” Mixon said. “[Tank Dell] fought his a** off to get healthy from what he was going through in the offseason. I mean, my man showed up to work each and every day with the best mindset, best attitude, and it’s just an unfortunate situation. That’s the nature of this game, you can’t never take it for granted. You know, you play like it’s your last because you’re never guaranteed the next.”</p><p>As a player who shared the field with Dell during the play, Mixon also added how he was able to comfort the Texans’ second-year receiver after he suffered the knee injury.</p><p>“When you got your brother right there screaming in pain, and it’s really nothing you can do, that s**t sucks,” Mixon said. “I just try to do whatever I can to let him know that we’re there for him, praying over him, letting him know that God got you. At the end of the day, you never want to see anybody in this sport get hurt like that, man. It’s unfortunate, but we just gotta be there for him.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A somber <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Texans</a> locker room as Joe Mixon <a href="https://twitter.com/Joe_MainMixon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Joe_MainMixon</a> reacts to significant Tank Dell left knee injury that is expected to end his season <a href="https://twitter.com/KPRC2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KPRC2</a> <a href="https://t.co/rI9SQ5deB3">pic.twitter.com/rI9SQ5deB3</a></p><p>— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1870592133587239366?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Another player who openly spoke about the injury was Xavier Hutchinson, a receiver who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-houstons-2023-nfl-draft-class">joined the Texans in the same draft class</a> as Dell.</p><p>“It’s hard, it’s tough,” Hutchinson said. “You never want to see someone like Tank, especially, go out with everything that he’s been through, everything that he’s battled through, just to see him come back and have the game that he was having, it sucks. He’s a big part of this team, and we’re going to miss him.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Texans?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Texans</a> wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson reacts to Tank Dell horrible left knee injury <a href="https://twitter.com/KPRC2?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KPRC2</a> <a href="https://t.co/aHQVX57uPB">pic.twitter.com/aHQVX57uPB</a></p><p>— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1870605228216914428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 21, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The last <a href="https://x.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/1870622849947619496" rel="noopener">player to speak</a> on Dell’s injury was Nico Collins, another receiver on this Texans team who <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-wr-nico-collins-placed-on-ir-with-hamstring-injury">missed significant time this season</a> with an injury, per Aaron Wilson on X.</p><p>“It hurts,” Collins said. “We know how much he meant to this team, but losing one of your brothers, man, it hurts. Speedy recovery for [Tank Dell]. Knowing how much this game means to him, to us, to go down like that, it’s frustrating. It’s hard. He’s a really big part of this offense. Seeing him go down, it hurt. We got to continue to step and ball for him and all of the rest of the brothers. We’re going to miss him”</p><p>So, with Dell <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/texans-news-tank-dell-gets-significant-knee-injury-update-from-demeco-ryans">expected to miss the remainder of the 2024 season</a>, the Texans have extra reason to fight as hard as they can with three games remaining.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024 SEASON STATS
PASSING YDS	PASSING TDS	INTERCEPTIONS	POSITION RANK
3727	20	12	-

2024 SEASON STATS
PASSING YDS	PASSING TDS	INTERCEPTIONS	POSITION RANK
3727	20	12	-

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