Oct 26, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; San Francisco 49ers cornerback Upton Stout (20) attempts to sack Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) during the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Texans Pull Off Rare Feat Protecting C.J. Stroud vs. 49ers

Originally posted on Houston Texans on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 9:19 PM ET

The Houston Texans put together a refreshing Week 8 win on their home field against the San Francisco 49ers, 26-15, for their third victory of the season, and for C.J. Stroud it was a notably peaceful day in the pocket.

For the first time this season, the Texans allowed Stroud to be sacked a total of zero times–– an impressive mark for an offensive line that's suffered from a great deal of ups and downs through the prior six games of the season.

The Texans, in the prior six games of the year, have allowed Stroud to be sacked at least twice a day in the backfield for a grant total of 15 takedowns on the year–– tied for 10th amongst the league for quarterbacks.

But this weekend was a different story. Against a 49ers defensive front that was down a few key pieces, the Texans offensive line took advantage, and Stroud capitalized in a big way.

C.J. Stroud Sacked Zero Times for Fifth Time in Texans Career

Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

Houston allowed their lowest pressure rate of the season against San Francisco at 21.4%, according to Next Gen Stats, The 49ers also blitzed on a season-high 33.3% of dropbacks, recording 7 pressures on 14 blitzes.

Stroud completed 7 of 9 total attempts while under pressure from the 49ers' front for 111 yards and a touchdown, gaining +0.94 EPA per dropback under pressure. Per Next Gen Stats, that's his most in a game in his career.

The Texans offense allowed a season-low 21.4% pressure rate against the 49ers in Week 8.

They allowed just 2 pressures on 28 dropbacks without a blitz from SF (7.1%)

(NFL Pro) pic.twitter.com/F1H1zljcNx
— Jacob (@TexansJacob) October 27, 2025

Stroud finished the day with 318 yards while completing 30 of his 39 total passes, connecting on two touchdowns with just one interception, good for an 106.6 passer rating. It was his most passing yards in a game for this season, and just the ninth game of his career with over 300 passing yards in one game.

Heading into Week 9 against a tough Denver Broncos pass rush, the Texans will have their hands full in order to keep the positive momentum for a critical matchup to try and elevate back to .500. But if Stroud's protection can look anywhere close to how it did in this one moving forward, Houston's hopes of getting back into the playoff push might not be totally dead in the water.

This article first appeared on Houston Texans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: