"Embarrassing" "Super crazy": NFL fans react as Texans bench CJ Stroud for backup after dominating Ravens in 3 quarters

CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans got a statement win on Sunday. The team faced the Baltimore Ravens away from home in Week 5, and despite Lamar Jackson's absence making the job easier, the Texans finally had a great offensive performance.

This was Stroud's best game of the season. The young quarterback finished with 23 completions out of 27 attempts, 244 yards and four touchdowns. They scored more points against the Ravens than in their first three games combined. The 2-3 record keeps them in the race for the AFC South.

The game was so easy that the Texans were able to rest Stroud for the entire fourth quarter. Davis Mills took over, and Houston's Twitter account posted that the backup was now playing. NFL fans reacted by asking the starter to return to the game to improve his stats:

"Two straight games where teams have put in their backup quarterback vs the Ravens. Embarrassing", said one fan.

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"Super crazy today!", said a second fan.

"That’s how we know we had a good day", a third fan said.

Mills was able to throw a few passes during the game. He completed two out of four throws for 23 yards. However, his performance didn't matter. The job was already done, and it was time to recover, with the bye week looming on the horizon.

Stroud expresses confidence in improved performances for the Ravens after starters return

Houston got their revenge from the 2024 Christmas game. At the time, the team played the Baltimore Ravens with many key starters out through injury, and the Ravens easily won 31-2.

Stroud remembered their absences and stated that, as soon as their starters are back, the Ravens will be competitive once again.

“They're missing guys, it's obvious. I think they'll be just fine once they get their guys back. I think it's just big because we had the same problem last year when we played them. We had a lot of guys out on Christmas Day, and they gave us an old-fashioned.”

At 1-4, however, time is running out for the Ravens. The Pittsburgh Steelers are 3-1 and they lead the division. Baltimore's season could end sooner rather than later.

About the author

Henrique Bulio is an NFL and College Football journalist at Sportskeeda and the Editor-in-Chief of Pro Football Brasil. He has a total 13 years of experience working in American Football, and playing quarterback at an amateur level in Brazil has given him a unique perspective of the game.

Henrique follows the Philadelphia Eagles closely due to Michael Vick's historic performance on MNF against the Washington Commanders in 2010. His all-time favorite player is Ed Reed; he believes that Reed is the greatest safety to ever play the game. Bill Belichick gets the nod as Henrique's favorite coach for coaching the Patriots to glory over two decades.

If Henrique were to be able to go back in time and watch one game, it would be Super Bowl XLIX, where the Patriots and the Seahawks played a complete, back-and-forth game that concluded with one of the biggest talking points in NFL history.

Technical deep dives are Henrique’s specialty, and he ensures never to use misleading words in his articles, since he himself consumes a lot of information off the web. He has had the privilege of interviewing Cairo Santos, Lamar Jackson, Jim Harbaugh, Sean McDermott, Bruce Arians, Matt LaFleur, among others.

Aside from football, Henrique likes to play poker and Counter-Strike.

Know More

Ravens Nation! Check out the latest Baltimore Ravens Schedule and dive into the latest Ravens Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

Edited by Henrique Bulio