TheHouston Texans have started the year 0-2 for the second season in a row. However, their two losses were very different. In the first, against the Buffalo Bills, Houston’s offense put up 31 points, but the defense struggled.
In their most recent 20-6 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, Texans quarterbackC.J. Stroud
had a good day, but the offense could not get going and the Texans never got into the end zone.Despite the end result, head coach DeMeco Ryans was proud of the decision-making Stroud showed in the game and his throw-aways that prevented any potential turnovers against this Bengals defense.
"C.J. played very decisive,” Ryans said. “He went to the proper read multiple times. He was able to take some good shots downfield. We touched it a couple
of times, just couldn't come down with it. I'm proud of the decision-making he made today. He had to get out of the pocket, escape and run a couple of times and get us a couple of positive plays. He had some throwaways that were positive plays. The decision-making was there. In crunch time, we have to find a way to finish."
Seeing Stroud have a game like this was promising given how the last three games, including the postseason last year, ended. In the opener, he lost two fumbles. He had a host of fumbles and interceptions in the playoffs last year.
Finally, Stroud had a game where he protected the football and that was no small feat given the Bengals forced four turnovers in their season opener.
Luckily for Houston, its 0-2 start does not put them in a deep hole in the AFC South. So far, the Jacksonville Jaguars are the only team in the division with a win. Jacksonville just lost its second game to the Denver Broncos, leaving them at 1-1.
The Texans will have a chance to get to 1-2, and potentially even get into a tie for first in the division in their game against the Indianapolis Colts next week, since Jacksonville will be taking on the New England Patriots while the Tennessee Titans take on New York Giants on the road.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: DeMeco Ryans says C.J. Stroud was 'decisive' in Texans' loss to Bengals
