Can CJ Stroud Defeat the Steelers Defense?

Photo Credit: Melina Myers

In their Week 3 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, quarterback CJ Stroud played a great game as his finished his day with 280 yards on 20 completions on 30 attempts and added two touchdowns on the day and a quarterback rating of 118.8 on the day in a 37-17 victory over the heavy favorite Jaguars. In their next match up against the Pittsburgh Steelers the Texans come in as underdogs, but with the success of CJ Stroud in the early season there are some keys for him to get the job done and win.

Get the ball out

In a game where it is going to be tough for Stroud against a really good Pittsburgh Steelers defense line as the Houston Texans offensive line has struggled heavily this season. With pressure from the defensive line Stroud will have little to no time to get the ball out, for success in the game quick reads and quick throws are for the key to victory especially with defensive end TJ Watt who will be in the backfield the whole game.

Find Tank Dell

In order for CJ Stroud and the Texans to go into Pittsburgh and do damage wide receiver Tank Bell is going to be a huge target machine for the offense. In his rookie season so far he has racked up 15 catches to go with 251 yards and 2 touchdowns, as he has acted as the explosive play machine on offense with his quick lateral speed and great route running. In order for the Houston Texans to win against a great defense the connection of Stroud and Bell needs to be on the same page as the Steelers secondary has not looked good at all in the early season.

Get the running game going for stroud

The Texans offensive line has been in shambles for majority of the early season has the Texans running offense is one of the worst in the league as they are ranked 28th in the running game. For CJ Stroud and the Texans in order to be competitive they need the offensive line and running back Dameon Pierce to step up and get the job done in the run game as he is averaging 2.7 yards per carry (YPG) and had just 100 yards rushing on the whole year. Drawing up play designs for Stroud to take it himself might spark the run game and change the direction on how the season will go.