The Houston Texans couldn’t have had a worse day on Sunday. Not only did they lose a crucial game against the New York Jets. But star quarterback C.J. Stroud suffered a nasty head injury in the game and is now officially in concussion protocol.
The Texans struggled to do much at all offensively with rough playing conditions hampering their offense. Meanwhile, the Jets offense surprisingly didn’t have these same problems, as third-year quarterback Zach Wilson had his best game of the season.
Their struggles on both sides of the ball resulted in a blowout 30-6 victory for the Jets.
howdy y’aLL pic.twitter.com/l1FXbZ0qvZ
— New York Jets (@nyjets) December 10, 2023
The loss obviously hurts for the Texans. But it may be the least of their concerns compared to the injury that Stroud suffered in the game.
Stroud stayed in the game while the team was trailing 24-6 late in the fourth quarter. This is where he unfortunately suffered a head injury after taking a hit and having the back of his head bounce off the turf.
C.J. Stroud is in the medical tent after his head hit the ground after taking a big hit. Prayers up 🙏
pic.twitter.com/35gl9B2RKc— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) December 10, 2023
After the game, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans confirmed that Stroud is now officially in concussion protocol.
“Yeah, C.J. (Stroud) will be in the concussion protocol,” said Ryans via Texans beat writer Adam Wexler. “We’ll see how he progresses throughout the week.”
#Texans HC DeMeco Ryans after the game, "Yeah, C.J. (Stroud) will be in concussion protocol, we'll see how he progresses throughout the week."
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) December 10, 2023
This obviously puts Stroud’s status in jeopardy for the team’s Week 15 game against the Tennessee Titans. That could loom large for the team’s playoff chances in the AFC.
The loss on Sunday puts the Texans to 7-6 on the year. They do however have several tiebreakers in the AFC going against them, which currently has them outside of the postseason.
That means it is crucial for the Texans to win going forward in a highly competitive AFC conference. If Stroud is unable to play next week due to this injury, it could be a disastrous end of the year for Houston.
