There wasn't much Christmas cheer in NRG Stadium as the home fans watched the Houston Texans get flattened by the Baltimore Ravens 31-2 on Wednesday.
Fans expressed discontent with their playoff-bound team's performance by booing as the Texans trailed 10-0 heading into the second quarter and 17-2 ahead of halftime.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled mightily in moving the chains. He threw for a total of 185 yards and 0 touchdowns with one interception in the loss.
"People are entitled to their opinions and they care about the game. Their emotions matter, so I understand," Stroud said, per NBC Sports' Michael David Smith. "This is not my first time and it probably won't be my last.
Things didn't look brighter when the game resumed in the second half; Stroud's interception came on the first drive after that, causing the cacophony of boos to echo stronger throughout the stadium.
The young pocket passer took accountability for the display against the Ravens, dropping the Texans to 9-7.
"I just kept missing. I wasn't making throws," Stroud said.
Stroud, the reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, is amidst a sophomore slump despite leading the Texans to another clinching of the AFC South.
His completion percentage has dropped along with his yardage per pass and his passer rating. Stroud's sensational rookie campaign featured 23 touchdown scores with five picks; this season, he has slung only 19 with 12 interceptions in 16 games so far.
"This is not my first time and it probably won't be my last. This is not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself but it is something that you can use to motivate you, to not want those moments anymore," said Stroud.
Houston had an opportunity to move up the AFC leaderboard and tie the Ravens for the No. 3 overall seed, but instead, have now locked themselves into the No. 4 position.
"I got plenty of football left in my career hopefully, God willing, and I know this is going to be a story I'll tell one day that helps me in the long run. It's part of life. You hit a lot of valleys and you have a lot of mountaintops. It's a cliché, but there's not sunny days if there aren't days with rain. So, this is a rainy day, but at the end of the day, the sun will rise up tomorrow and we have another crack at this thing next week and keep rolling."
For more on the Texans, head to Newsweek Sports.
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