HINTS OF GREATNESS
Athletes and coaches often talk about winning for the fans. Some of them actually mean it.
Oh, they all are involved in sports, to some extent, for personal pride or fame or money, and there is nothing wrong with that.
But the ones who truly put fans near the top of their list are an exceptional group.
Sunday was a day to celebrate one such player, a former Texans star who is perhaps the most beloved figure in Houston sports history.
And on that day, Texans fans got another taste of the work of a newcomer who appears to be cast from that mold.
J.J. Watt, three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, was inducted in the Texans’ Ring of Honor at halftime of Sunday’s 30-6 win over Pittsburgh.
C.J. Stroud was a key figure in that dominant victory, which improved the Texans’ record to 2-2, putting them in a firstplace tie in the AFC South.
Yes, a team that won three of 17 games last season has two victories in the first month of this season.
Head coach DeMeco Ryans’ heart has been with Houston since the team drafted him in 2006. When he was hired as head coach in January, he said Texans fans deserve a winner and he was going to do everything in his power to bring them a team they could be proud of.
Stroud, the second overall pick, was the first major draft decision under his watch.
When Stroud heard the Texans had not won a home game since the day after Christmas in 2021, he couldn’t believe it. And he wasn’t having it.
After Sunday’s win, the rookie quarterback spoke directly to the fans, saying the team is supposed to make them proud by winning.
“Y’all deserve to feel special,” Stroud said. “Y’all deserve to root the Texans on.
“Not winning (at home) since 2021, around Christmas? That ain’t flying for me or anybody in this building. I want them to know that we’re fighting our tails off every day to make sure y’all are walking around (wearing) Texans gear with pride.
“I take that real personal. I don’t like being bagged on about my teams. When my Lakers lose, I’m pissed. So I take that stuff real serious.”
Sunday was Stroud’s fourth game as a Texan and only his second in front of a home crowd, but he says he is falling in love with the city “little by little,” and he already has Houston’s back.
Pittsburgh is one of the most popular teams in the NFL. At least half the stadium was dressed in Steelers black and gold. And they were loud.
Stroud and the Texans noticed, then took care of business.
“Steelers fans came, and they showed out today, and we sent them home,” he said. “I think our fans felt the energy. We weren’t playing (around) today from the get-go.”
With Watt in town, there was a special energy around NRG all weekend. He spoke to the team, telling the Texans they should take advantage of their unique opportunity to do even more for Houston than he ever did.
He referred to not winning a Super Bowl, which is about the only thing he didn’t accomplish as a player.
That had no effect on fans’ appreciation or anticipation of his joining wide receiver Andre Johnson and franchise founder Bob McNair in the Ring of Honor.
The Texans weren’t about to lose on J.J.’s day.
Houston scored on its first three possessions and built a 16-0 lead at the halftime. It marked the second straight game the Texans didn’t allow any points in the first half.
The runaway victory gave the Texans their first back-toback wins by 20 or more points since the last two games of the 2015 regular season.
Dominating defense and a season-best running game (139 yards) made life easier for Stroud.
As he did in Jacksonville a week ago, Stroud again smoothly led the offense like a veteran, completing 16 of 30 passes for 306 yards and becoming the first rookie quarterback in history to throw for over 1,200 yards without an interception in his first four NFL starts.
Watt jokes that he was terrible early in his rookie season. We all know he was great by the end of it, and from then on.
Stroud has been otherworldly. He is playing like one of the top 10 quarterbacks in the league.
Stroud’s passing yards (1,212) in the first four games of his career rank second all-time to Cam Newton (1,386), who had five interceptions in his first four starts in 2011.
He can’t keep this up. Can he?
“For me, it’s a blessing, but I want to do more,” Stroud said. “I want to be really great at this game.”