Texans' C.J. Stroud reacts to fans booing during blowout loss to Ravens

Second-year Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud and his teammates heard boos from the home crowd during the club's disappointing 31-2 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day. 

Following the defeat, which dropped the Texans to 9-7, Stroud spoke about fans expressing their displeasure at NRG Stadium. 

"People are entitled to their opinions and they care about the game," Stroud said, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk shared. "Their emotions matter, so I understand. This is not my first time and it probably won’t be my last. This is not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself but it is something that you can use to motivate you, to not want those moments anymore."

Versus the Ravens, Stroud completed 17-of-31 passes for 185 yards with no touchdowns, one interception and five sacks taken. Per The Associated Press' Kristie Rieken, the 23-year-old said after the loss that it was "probably one of my worst games in my whole career." 

After earning Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors for the 2023 season, Stroud hasn't improved as expected. According to ESPN stats, he's ranked 25th in the NFL among qualified players with a 49.1 adjusted QBR and an 86.0 passer rating on the campaign. He has thus far tossed 19 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions over 16 games.

The good news for Stroud and co. is that the Texans already clinched the AFC South title for a second consecutive season before Wednesday's debacle. Thus, Houston will have at least one massive opportunity to put smiles on the faces of paying customers next month. 

"I got plenty of football left in my career hopefully, God willing, and I know this is going to be a story I’ll tell one day that helps me in the long run. It’s part of life," Stroud added during his postgame comments. "You hit a lot of valleys and you have a lot of mountaintops. It’s a cliche, but there’s not sunny days if there aren’t days with rain. So, this is a rainy day, but at the end of the day, the sun will rise up tomorrow and we have another crack at this thing next week and keep rolling."

With the Texans locked into the No. 4 seed for the upcoming postseason tournament, it remains to be seen how much Stroud will play in the regular-season finale versus the Tennessee Titans. One wonders if he'll campaign to take more than a few meaningful snaps in that matchup in an attempt to get ready for a win-or-go-home game.