The story for the Houston Texans does not seem that much different in their season opener versus how the season ended. It came down to turnovers.
Although Houston’s defense gave up an alarming number of points, the Texans had a chance to win but failed because of a turnover by quarterback C.J. Stroud.
It was Stroud’s second lost fumble in the game. His first lost fumble came on Houston’s first drive of the season and resulted in a field goal for the Bills, which proved costly since the Texans lost by five.
Without that field goal, they would have only been down two on the final drive and could have kicked a game-winning field goal instead of needing a touchdown.
Reflecting on his performance after the game, Stroud acknowledged how costly the turnovers
were but also said there are positive aspects to take away from how the offense played, including his accuracy on some of his throws.
“We can't turn the ball over,” Stroud said. “The first drive, that gives them three points. It makes it a little easier for them at the end. I thought after that we settled it in pretty good. I thought the protection was great. I thought we ran the ball, I was accurate, made some throws, used my feet a little bit. A lot of positive things. But when you don't win, there are things you always can fix and even when you do win. We'll try to address those issues, get back to the board. I thought overall as an offense we had a pretty good day. We can't come out the second half and get two three-and-outs. We have to be able to flip the field or go get some points.”
Having running back David Montgomery made a huge difference for this Houston offense. Utilizing the passing attack with a good run game made the Texans more dangerous and ultimately allowed them to put up 31 points.
Montgomery also accounted for three touchdowns, so he will be a crucial piece of the offense going forward.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans QB CJ Stroud reflects on offense's performance in season opener
