C.J. Stroud threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns. He had a 106.7 passer rating.
The Texans quarterback also lost two fumbles on strip sacks by Greg Rousseau, and the Bills won 36-31 as Stroud couldn’t get them in the end zone despite a first-and-goal at the 9.
Coach DeMeco Ryans thought Stroud played well enough to win, pointing to the 409 yards his vaunted defense gave up. That included 334 passing yards by Josh Allen.
“C.J. was [very much in control](https://x.com/TexansCommenter/status/2099242974651559964) the entire game,” Ryans said, via texanscommenter. “Took what the defense gave him. Made great decisions with the football. Proud of the way he played today. He showed what he’s been showing all camp, that confidence, that growth. Was very calm, great demeanor, putting us in a great position to win the game.
“Unfortunately, we lost the football there two times. Don’t want those plays at all, but not going to let that overshadow the game that he had. Offense put up way more points than needed for us to win this game. Could’ve definitely played much better defensively.”
The Texans had first-and-goal at the Buffalo 9 with 25 seconds left, but Deone Walker sacked Stroud for a 9-yard loss. After an incompletion, Rousseau had a strip-sack of Stroud that Terrell Bernard recovered with 9 ticks left to end it.
“Got down there,” Stroud said. “Can’t get stalemated like that. That sack kind of made it tougher, but even then, we still had a chance. I’m trying my best to protect the ball but also to make plays. We needed seven right there, so I can’t be super conservative. I’ve got to be able to take shots. Sometimes it doesn’t roll your way. We’ll try to fix that and go forward.”