“Embarrassing” loss to the Jets is a “wake-up call” for the Texans

According to quarterback CJ Stroud, the Houston Texans suffered an “embarrassing” loss to the New York Jets on Thursday night, losing 21-13 on the road in an error-filled game.

“Coming here to a prime-time game and being embarrassed is never fun,” Stroud said, via ESPN. “We have to be better in many areas, and that starts with me. There are plays I have to make, throws I have to make. I point the finger at myself and realize that I need to get better as a soccer player. If.” We want to win, that's not the recipe for it. We have to learn to dominate.

Both teams repeatedly stubbed each other's toes throughout the game, but the Texans never settled down on offense and couldn't get stops late on defense. Houston gave up three consecutive scoring drives to close the contest and failed to reach the end zone except for a 98-yard drive in the second quarter.

The loss to a Jets club that had lost five games highlighted the Texans' worst problem.

“We will be able to be a really good football team and that doesn’t define us,” Stroud said on the team’s official website. “But it’s definitely a wake-up call.”

Behind an offensive line that has battered him, Stroud is beginning to show cracks. The second-year quarterback fumbled in scoring position in the first quarter, missed a number of throws he normally makes — including one that should have gone for an easy touchdown late — and took a whopping eight sacks. In addition to the eight sacks, Stroud was pressured on 46.7% of his pass attempts, according to Next Gen Stats.

“I’m not sure what’s happening up front,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We'll watch the film and see what it is, but obviously you give up eight sacks and every dropback or pass situation looks like we're in scramble mode, so it's just not good enough if “We can't operate on time.”, and we have to fix that, if you get fired so often, it's not good enough. We have to adapt.

Stroud completed 11 of 30 passes (36.7%) for 191 yards and a passer rating of 59.2.

Stroud finally has to take one blow after another. It's been building over the weeks – you could see the signs of it on Sunday against Houston. But without Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs winning from the outside, Thursday was a perfect storm of evil. It gets to the point where the quarterback expects to get hit every time he falls back. That's not how you play quarterback.

As bad as Thursday's loss was, the multiple-game lead in the division gives Houston time to get back on track. But the road doesn't get any easier heading into Week 10 against the powerful Detroit Lions.

“This is not the time to hang your head and feel sorry for yourself,” Stroud said. “It’s time to answer the call. We have people in this locker room that I believe in and trust.”