C.J. Stroud reacts to Texans fans booing him in Houston

The Houston Texans (9-7) and quarterback C.J. Stroud were subject to boos from their home crowd during the Christmas Day game against the Baltimore Ravens (11-5). And it was hard to say they were wrong in that.

The Ravens soundly defeated the Texans, 31-2, a performance among the worst of any team in the NFL this season. Stroud understood the boos from the crowd at NRG Stadium, he said after the game.

“People are entitled to their opinions, and they care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand,” Stroud said, via Pro Football Talk. “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. 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.

“You hit a lot of valleys, and you have a lot of mountaintops. It’s a cliché, 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.”

C.J. Stroud led Texans struggling entering playoffs

Through all their faults this season, Houston has already wrapped things up in a weak AFC South. The Texans will be one of seven playoff teams in the AFC, but the overall performance this season has indicated they’re closer to Wild Card teams such as the Denver Broncos (9-6) and Los Angeles Chargers (9-6), than the upper echelon of the conference.

Expectations were higher coming off a surprise playoff appearance in 2023, in which Stroud took home AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The sophomore slump has gotten to Stroud, who’s thrown for 3,677 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on 62.7% passing. Stroud’s 49.0 QBR is 25th among signal-callers.

Stroud needs to be better if the Texans are going to make a run this season — and he knows it coming off “one of my worst games of my whole career.”

“Terrible on my behalf,” Stroud said. “Probably one of my worst games of my whole career. Just came out flat. Didn’t have any energy. Didn’t lead the offense the way I should have. Always got to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself and not good enough today. You know, it is what it is. Can’t hang my head down but just got to keep going.”