HOUSTON — Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud left Sunday’s 18-15 loss to the Denver Broncos and did not return after sustaining a concussion following a big hit in the second quarter.
Stroud dropped back on a third-and-8 with 13:51 remaining in the first half and scanned the field before scrambling. He slid short of the first-down mark, but Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine lunged into Stroud’s chest, which caused the quarterback’s head to hit the ground.
Stroud was down on the field, moving gingerly, before he eventually got up and walked off the field on his own power. He gave a thumbs-up to the crowd before he entered the medical tent and then went to the locker room.
Abrams-Draine was initially flagged for unnecessary roughness. But the play was reviewed and the call was overturned when officials said he didn’t make contact with Stroud’s head or neck, a decision with which coach DeMeco Ryans disagreed.
“I see it as unnecessary roughness,” Ryans said. “He hit the quarterback when he was sliding and giving himself up. If I’m incorrect on the rules, I’ve seen that happen multiple times with our guys, and we get the penalty.”
Backup quarterback Davis Mills entered the game in place of Stroud, and he was 17-of-30 for 137 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions — and just 7-of-16 for 53 yards in the second half.
Ryans didn’t use Stroud’s injury as an excuse for the loss.
“It’s easy to stand up here and make excuses,” Ryans said. “[Injuries] happen all across the league all the time. You don’t make excuses about who’s in the game or who’s not in the game. We still had an opportunity there to close the game out and win it.”
Added tight end Dalton Schultz said: “It’s your time to step up. We need the next guy to come in and just be consistent. Just execute.”
The Texans led 15-7 to open the fourth quarter, but Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to running back RJ Harvey and then tied it with a 2-point conversion pass to wideout Troy Franklin.
From that moment on, Houston’s offense sorely missed Stroud as the Texans totaled only 33 yards in the final quarter, with four punts.
That gave the Broncos just enough chances to finally secure the victory with kicker Wil Lutz nailing a 34-yard winning field goal as time expired.
Ryans said the Texans’ offense “sputtered” in the second half, as Houston had only 87 yards; the Texans had 181 yards in the first half. The defense did as much as it could by holding the Broncos’ offense to 271 yards.
“Every offense is going to miss their starting quarterback,” Ryans said. “We want our starting quarterback in the game at any given time; that’s why he’s a starting quarterback. But it’s no excuses. A lot of teams have won games with backup quarterbacks before, and we had our opportunity. We had our chance.”
Before exiting the game, Stroud was 6-for-10 for 79 yards and led the Texans into field goal range on two drives.
This is Stroud’s second concussion, with him sustaining the first against the New York Jets in December 2023. That one occurred in similar fashion, as the back of Stroud’s helmet hit the turf when he was driven to the ground by defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
The Texans are 3-5 and host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 10. If Stroud can’t clear the concussion protocol this week, expect Mills to get the nod.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
