Rookie No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans missed last week’s win over the Tennessee Titans with a concussion. At the time, it did seem like it would be a one-week absence for the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year favorite.
That’s not going to be the case. According to DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN, Stroud is slated to miss a second consecutive game as his Texans take on the Cleveland Browns in a huge Week 16 game with real NFL Playoff ramifications.
Veteran journeyman Case Keenum is expected to get his second consecutive start over Davis Mills when Houston hosts Cleveland. Keenum did well in Stroud’s stead last week, completing 23-of-36 psses for 229 yards with a touchdown and an interception in the win over Tennessee.
In no way does this mean the most-recent Stroud injury update is good news for a Texans team that’s battling for its playoff lives.
Related: Houston Texans and AFC bubble teams heading into Week 16
Impact of C.J. Stroud injury update on the Houston Texans
Houston sits at 8-6 on the season and as the eighth seed in the AFC. It is technically tied with the Cincinnati Bengals and Indianapolis Colts for the final two playoffs spots. It currently loses the tiebreaker against Cincinnati and Indianapolis due to a worst division record.
If Houston is able to defeat Cleveland at home in Week 16, it will hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over a Browns team that’s currently one game up on the Texans for the fifth spot. That’s what makes this game so big for the upstart Texans.
- C.J. Stroud stats (2023): 62% completion, 3,631 yards, 23 total TD, 5 INT, 98.7 QB rating
Prior to going down with a concussion late in Week 14 against the New York Jets, Stroud was on pace for a record-breaking rookie season. Whatever we may think of Keenum, he does not bring the same dynamic to Houston’s offense.
The Texans do have games coming up against the division-rival Tennessee Titans and aforementioned Colts to close up shop on the regular season. Losing in Week 16 wouldn’t come close to eliminating the team from playoff contention.
Related: Ranking C.J. Stroud among the NFL’s 32 starting QBs
But a win would set them up extremely well to earn that surprise postseason appearance under first-year head coach DeMeco Ryans. Not having Stroud under center does put Houston behind the proverbial eight-ball.