As was the case for most of the stretch run, Stroud was besieged and confused behind the Texans’ battered line, taking a ridiculous eight sacks for a ruinous 58 yards. The reigning offensive rookie of the year, Stroud started slow this season and never really heated up. After posting a 7:3 TD:INT total across his first five starts, that ratio fell to 13:9 over his final 12 appearances. He never reached 300 yards after October 6, watching his rookie touchdown rate fall as his interception and sack percentages climbed. Shaky under pressure after handling the blitz well as a rookie, Stroud also struggled to hit big plays. Injuries to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs played a part, but Stroud collapsed down field. After challenging for the league lead with 66 20-plus yard completions in 2023, Stroud saw that number fall to 42 in 2024. That was despite making two more starts. As was the case his rookie year, Stroud often felt held back by OC Bobby Slowik’s play-calling, but it’s difficult for an outsider to know just how much of that was a coordinator protecting his quarterback. All of this, of course, buries the lede that this is still a young QB who has now piloted at least one playoff victory each of his first two seasons. Stroud did not collapse as a sophomore. He just needs to rediscover his momentum heading into 2025.

Stroud was slightly less inaccurate than he has been this season in Houston’s upset win over the Chargers. He got it done on the ground, converting two critical third downs with his legs and firing up the Texans and their fans. Stroud targeted Nico Collins an team-high eight times and threw he lone touchdown to Collins on a nicely placed pass inside the ten yard line. Stroud still had a few baffling throws. That included a sideline interception in the first half with no Houston pass catcher within ten yards of the ball. Stroud, who had the league’s second lowest EPA per play from Week 9-18, will have to play better if the Texans are to advance further into the postseason.

He was pulled after leading a touchdown drive on the first series. The Texans largely accomplished the offense-only “get your groove back” Week 18 sidequest by rolling up 6.4 yards per play. They’re currently awaiting results from the Chargers game to see who they’ll play in (let’s not kid ourselves) the 3:30 ET game on Saturday. Stroud will be a, uh, let’s say contrarian playoff best ball pick given how Houston’s pass offense has trended down throughout the season. Be it the Steelers or the Chargers, Stroud will have to overcome a lot to get the Texans back into the divisional round.

He starts the quote by saying “Everybody has to be ready to go,” and then ends the quote with “We gotta go play better, our last outing on the field was not good enough ... it’s not a good representation of our team.” Reading between the lines, it sounds like the Texans want to get the starters a few series and feel good about themselves heading into the playoffs before they turn things over to the backups. It will be hard to trust any Texans players in Week 18 fantasy from where that quote stands, perhaps we’ll get more clarity on the situation as the week goes on.