The Houston Texans have a franchise QB in C.J. Stroud

With 46 seconds to go in the game, it appeared as if the Houston Texans would fall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their Week 9 matchup. Despite putting up a valiant effort, the Texans watched Baker Mayfield march Tampa Bay down the field on a clutch touchdown drive to give his team a 37-33 lead.

Then, C.J. Stroud completed five consecutive passes (not including an intentional spike) for 75 yards and a touchdown, leading Houston to a 39-37 victory in thrilling fashion. Stroud finished the game with an NFL rookie-record 470 passing yards and five touchdowns in a performance for the ages.

Stroud's season totals are now up to a 62 percent completion rate, 2,270 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and just one interception. His INT% is almost nonexistent, a minuscule 0.36 percent, which is unheard of for any NFL QB, much less a rookie passer.

C.J. Stroud is on his way to the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and more with the Houston Texans

Stroud is having an absolutely phenomenal campaign and is the clear frontrunner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. It's unfair to expect him to continue this level of play, but he is doing things that are sustainable, and that comes down to just being a flat-out really good quarterback.

He did end up going second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, but that was after a pre-draft process that saw some knock him down their draft boards because of a reportedly very low Wonderlic score, plus the fact that Ohio State quarterbacks don't have a very good track record in the NFL.

That ignored his excellent collegiate tape, incredible production over a two-year span (85 touchdowns, 12 picks, 8,123 passing yards), and herculean effort in his final game at Ohio State, where his 348 yards and four scores against the vaunted Georgia defense nearly helped the Buckeyes upset the Bulldogs in the Peach Bowl.

Eight games into his NFL career, Stroud has the Texans at 4-4, second in the AFC South, and with a future that is looking brighter and brighter each week. Stroud ranks sixth in the NFL in yards per attempt, and his interception rate leads the league by a wide margin. However, he is just 28th in completion percentage, which is an indicator that he has a lot of room for improvement, which is a scary thought if you're not on his team.

That stat shows that Stroud isn't just dinking and dunking and avoiding risks to keep his interception total low. He's making legitimate big-time throws down the field and into tight windows, and he's leading his team to victory. The Texans are 4-2 over the last six weeks, with their two losses coming at a total of just four points.

Yes, it's only eight games. But Stroud is doing things that no other rookie has ever done, and while Bryce Young has plenty of time to turn things around in Carolina, Texans fans should have zero doubts that they have their guy. His accuracy, poise, and leadership are evident, and there are few better feelings as a football fan than realizing your team has its QB.