Analyst Suggests Stroud Received Unfair Blame for 2024 Struggles

C.J. Stroud didn’t have the type of season most expected in 2024. Sure, he was still productive and helped lead Houston back to the postseason, but several factors in the offensive system last year were lacking.

Of course, quarterbacks are the first to blame, even if they’ve earned the benefit of doubt. Stroud wasn’t exempt from such blame after eating 52 sacks and tossing 12 picks.

NBC’s Chris Simms believes Stroud was “unfairly blamed” for the Texans’ offensive regression last season.

“There were issues with the way they protect schematically and how things were done at the line of scrimmage that just weren’t favorable to C.J. Stroud, and they were unfair,” Simms said while discussing the Texans’ recently revealed 2025 schedule. “I watched too many games to go ‘Wait, this guy just isn’t going to be blocked?'”

Simms suggests that Stroud wasn’t given control of pass protection at the line, nor was he given proper check-down options when things, seemingly inevitably, went wrong.

Stroud Facing Challenges Beyond a New Scheme in 2025

Stroud still holds some benefit of doubt because, despite personally regressing in almost every statistic, the Texans were still dominant in the AFC South, and he’s proven his talent translates well to the NFL. So, it stands to reason that with a revised scheme under new offensive coordinator Nick Caley, the offense should be headed back in the right direction.

But Houston won’t be without its challenges, particularly from a personnel standpoint.

Tank Dell is set to miss the 2025 season due to his terrible knee injury. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil was traded away. 

While the offensive scheme appeared to be the primary issue for the inflated sack totals in 2024, talent is still needed to execute a presumably improved scheme in 2025. The tackle combination of Trent Brown and Cam Robinson isn’t terrible, and both have the veteran acumen to learn their roles. But its not as though their respective careers remove all concerns around an offensive line that Simms says he believes “will be better.”

Still, the AFC South is the Texans’ division to lose. Tennessee, Indianapolis, and Jacksonville can all be pesky in their own way, but they all lack the talent and winning experience Houston has gathered under DeMeco Ryans. And while each of those division rivals hopes they have their long-term answer at quarterback, they don’t have Stroud, who has proven to be the answer even when things aren’t perfect.