Immediately following the Houston Texans' 14-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, quarterback C.J. Stroud didn’t hold back when describing his team’s preparation leading up to the Week 1 tilt.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game, because we didn’t do the right things.” Stroud told the media.“When you come out in the NFL, lollygagging and going through the motions, that kind of happens. I think we’ll be all right, but I think it’s a good wake-up call for us.”
Houston mustered just 265 yards of offense and was two-of-nine on third-down attempts in the loss. The unit also turned the ball over twice – including a fumble by running back Dare Qgunbowale late in the fourth quarter – and was flagged for seven of the team’s 11 penalties.
“We can’t shoot ourselves in the foot consistently and expect to win. And that starts with me, with a lot of different things. I got to get rid of the ball better and use my legs maybe a little more.”
Stroud finished 19-of-27 for 188 yards through the air with an interception and rushed for 32 yards on five carries. He was also sacked three times on Sunday.
DeMeco Ryans responds to potentially controversial comments by C.J. Stroud
Tuesday, ahead of their Week 2 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans was asked about Stroud’s ‘lollygagging’ comment and essentially shrugged it off.
“It’s never an entire group,” Ryans said. “That’s the one thing about it. So, there are individuals that have their moments throughout the week. And the lollygagging, it’s a term everybody wants to use now. For me, it’s just our tempo in and out of the huddle.
We've got to get in and out of the huddle quicker, so we can get to the line of scrimmage, so we can operate and make sure we've got checks, and things you have to make at the line of scrimmage.
Well, to make those checks in a proper manner, we've got to get out with some urgency. The urgency piece from everybody has to pick up from the offensive side of the ball. Once the urgency picks up, we'll be able to operate cleaner when it comes to pre-snap and post-snap."
Houston’s offense has an extra-long week to prepare for its Week 2 contest. The Texans return home to face the Buccaneers on Monday Night Football. Tampa Bay is coming off a dramatic 23-20 road win over the Atlanta Falcons.