C.J. Stroud Gets Brutally Honest After Texans' Loss vs. Jaguars

The Houston Texans fell short in their Week 3 bout vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars to take them to a lowly 0-3 on the season, and continue to find themselves tied for last place in the AFC South heading into Week 4.

It was a game of many errors for the Texans in Jacksonville. The offensive side of the ball wasn't at the standard it needed to be for the third-straight week, finishing with just 10 points on the board. Houston gave up three turnovers to the Jaguars' defense, two C.J Stroud picks and a Nico Collins fumble. And continued their persistent flag issues, ending up with seven penalties on the day to give up 66 yards.

After the game, the message for the Texans was simple for C.J. Stroud: the offense just needs to be better, and especially to help their defense that's been stout through three games of the season.

"You know, penalties are part of us knowing that we're better, but also, we can play a lot better. I could play a lot better," Stroud said following the Texans' 10-17 loss. "Our defense has been holding up. We gotta be able to help them. It's not easy. But, yeah, we just gotta do better."

Stroud ended his day completing 25/38 total passes for 204 total yards, completing one 50-yard touchdown to Nico Collins for their second scoring connection of the year.

But his performance also came with two picks in the fourth quarter, the latter of which took the wind out of the sails of the Texans' chances to tie the game up late, now leaving them with their first 0-3 start to the season since 2020.

Houston Texans quarterback CJ. Stroud (7) looks on after the game of an NFL football matchup at EverBank Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars defeated the Texans 17-10. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union] | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

So how can the Texans come back from being down in the count early this season?

For Stroud, it comes down to fixing the mistakes and turning the page.

"Just move forward," Stroud said. "Gotta fix some mistakes, and, you know, just keep going forward."

Stroud knows the Texans are close to making those necessary tweaks to turn those narrow losses into wins, but being close can only go so far.

Three games in, and Houston still finds themselves not making the plays necessary at the end of the game to put a win on the board, and continuing to make costly mistakes, and thus, still winless heading into Week 4.

"We're really close," Stroud said. "That's the problem. We just keep, you know, reiterating that we're close. And now it's time to fix the issues and be honest with one another."

"So, you know, the message is just, we're gonna keep having these results if we don't finish, if we don't take care of the ball, and just do the small things. The effort's there, the physicality, it's just the execution."

Week 3's loss in Jacksonville now marks a third-straight game in which the Texans have fallen short of a win by just one score, while also having an opportunity late in the game to win within all three, yet going 0-3 in those chances.

Stroud knows the chatter's going to be loud surrounding the Texans while they stick among the few teams without posting a win on the season in three tries. But at the end of the day, he just has to put his head down and work to make those necessary changes.

"We gotta just keep going forward. Everybody's gonna talk crazy like they've been doing, and have these analyses, and rightfully so," Stroud said. "That's the NFL. You give them an inch, they'll take a mile. We gotta be able to stay together, stick together, stay as a family, stay as a brotherhood, and try to get these things fixed."

"It's a long season. It sucks to start 0-3, but it can be flipped."

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