C.J. Stroud has message for Texans teammates after 0-2 start

The Houston Texans lost another tough game on Monday night, and quarterback C.J. Stroud is expecting the criticism to mount following his team's slow start to the 2025 season.

Baker Mayfield led a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter to lift the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 20-19 win over the Texans in Houston. The Texans were leading 19-14 when Bucs running back Rachaad White punched in a two-yard touchdown with six seconds remaining.

Houston is now 0-2 on the season after also losing 14-9 to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1. Following Monday night's game, Stroud urged his teammates to stick together through what is sure to be a lot of negative talk from fans and the media.

"Everybody’s going to talk crazy and say we suck and we’re this and that,” Stroud told reporters, via The Associated Press. “But at the end of the day we’ve got to stay together and...be honest and have hard conversations. But I think right now we need more confidence as an offense, just confidently playing better together. I think that’s a big thing.”

The Texans got off to a hot start

It looked like the Texans might finally rediscover their explosive offense from Stroud's rookie season when they jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead over Tampa Bay. Stroud and Houston's offense went 64 yards in just over three minutes on their first possession, capping off the drive with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins.

It was mostly downhill from there.

After adding a field goal on their second offensive drive, the Texans went punt, punt, end of half, punt, punt and turnover on downs on their next six drives. They finally put together a field goal drive and scored a touchdown following a big punt return in the fourth quarter, but their offense was stagnant for a lengthy stretch.

Stroud is looking to regain his rookie form

Stroud was named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 after throwing for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions. It appeared Houston's offense was poised to become one of the best in the NFL for years, but the former Ohio State star took step back in his second season.

Stroud threw for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last year. The Texans still made the playoffs and beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the opening round, but they had major offensive line issues and Stroud struggled with turnovers. Some of those concerning trends have continued this season.

Though the sample size is small, Stroud has just 395 passing yards, a touchdown and an interception through two games to start the year. The Texans' offense clearly has a lot to figure out.