After just three games for the Houston Texans this season, rookie CJ Stroud has outperformed one of football’s legends at the same stage of his career.
NFL rookie CJ Stroud posted better numbers than two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning in his first season.
The second overall pick in the 2023 draft lost his first two games with the Houston Texans. They were convincingly defeated by the Baltimore Ravens in their season opener before suffering another loss, this time to the Indianapolis Colts in week two. However, they responded well to earn their first win of the campaign against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. . While it’s a small sample size, the 21-year-old has posted promising individual numbers so far, far surpassing those set by Manning in his first three starts with the Colts in in 1998. According to StatMuse, Stroud recorded 906 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in the first three games of his career, with a passer rating of 98.0.
On the other hand, Manning recorded just 683 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions in his first three NFL games, with a passer rating of 490, his rookie season was far from up to par. ideal.
He threw a game-high 28 interceptions as the Colts struggled to a 3–13 record with a defense allowing more than 27 points per game. Despite a poor start to his career, Manning won the Vince Lombardi Trophy twice, won the Super Bowl MVP in 2007 and was also the league MVP five times.
Stroud still has a long way to go to achieve these accolades, but he’s certainly off to a good start in the NFL. There were doubts over his fitness for yesterday’s match and he has been placed on an ‘arm management plan’ because of a sore right shoulder.
Before the game against the Jaguars, Stroud recorded 11 sacks and a league-high 19 hits. He did not practice with the team last Wednesday and had limited participation on Thursday, before participating in all of Friday’s practices.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed his availability to play against the Jaguars when he said:
“C.J. It is good. [He] had a normal week of training. Stroud now has the same treatment plan he had in college when he sprained his right shoulder as a freshman at Ohio State in 2021. But the rookie played in his third NFL game, as the Texans earned their first win of the season by defeating their AFC South rival 37-17. Stroud completed 20 of 30 passes for 280 yards, while also throwing two touchdowns, one of which included a pass to Brevin Jordan that sailed through the end zone.
He also threw a 46-yard pass to wide receiver Tank Dell inside the 5-yard line in the first half. This was easily the best game of Stroud’s young career to date and Texas fans certainly loved every minute of his performance.
His statistics made him the first quarterback in NFL history to record at least 900 passing yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions in his first three starts. “I have great people around me,” Stroud told ESPN. “I couldn’t do anything without those guys fighting, the receivers setting the right routes to the right depths, [offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik] calling the right plays at the right time.”