DeMeco Ryans didn’t wait for anyone else to make the MVP case for C.J. Stroud. After the Houston Texans beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 34-31 at Wembley Stadium on Ka’imi Fairbairn’s walk-off field goal, the head coach said his quarterback has been hot all season, and he signed off by agreeing with the Texans fans who made the trip.
“CJ’s been hot all year, and he’s still hot. He’s lighting it up,” Ryans said after the game. “He’s dishing the ball around to a lot of different people. Doesn’t matter who it is.”
C.J. Stroud’s numbers make an MVP case
Stroud went 24 of 34 for 312 yards and three touchdown passes in London, and he wasn’t sacked once. Through six games, he has 1,714 passing yards, nine touchdown passes and one interception, and Sunday’s end-zone pick by Travis Hunter was his first of the season. He has thrown for at least 250 yards in five of six games after doing it three times all of last season, a jump that already moved him up seven spots in SI’s quarterback rankings.
Ryans liked the response to that interception even more than the stat line. “His mindset was, ‘Hey, I got you, coach. Don’t worry about it.’ And when a player tells me that, that just gives me the confidence that I need that, ‘Hey, we’re right back in this thing,'” Ryans said.
Stroud then completed both of his passes on the game-winning drive to set up Fairbairn’s 49-yarder. Ryans also pointed to how Stroud handled a defense that “heated us up with a lot of zero pressure,” with the offense topping 30 points for what Ryans said was the third time this season.
Then he closed his news conference with the line Houston fans will remember. “Our fans are right. CJ for MVP. Let’s keep it going,” Ryans said.
So, is Stroud an MVP candidate? His play says yes. The record is the hard part. Houston is 2-4 after a 0-4 start, and MVP voters usually reward quarterbacks on winning teams. Two straight wins have the Texans two games out of first place, and the 1992 Chargers are still the only team to reach the playoffs after starting 0-4.
Stroud also has more help coming. Jaylin Noel had a career-best 107 yards and a touchdown, and Marvin Harrison Jr. caught three passes in his Texans debut. If Stroud keeps this pace and Houston keeps winning, the MVP talk around NRG Stadium won’t be just a sideline chant for long.
