Texans' DeMeco Ryans Impressed by C.J. Stroud After Ravens Rout

Making multiple excuses for the Baltimore Ravens after the 44-10 blowout loss to the Houston Texans is pretty darn easy. After all, a plethora of major injuries to big-name star players have bitten down hard on John Harbaugh's massively depleted unit.

Even so, successfully capitalizing on the opportunity to post the Texans’ first-ever win in Baltimore still took plenty of both focus and discipline.

It took quarterback C.J. Stroud showing the kind of calm demeanor and proficiency of execution, which delivered four touchdowns, and garnered plenty of praise from Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans.

"What I saw from C.J. today was his demeanour; he was very calm." Ryans said post-game.

"He was very under control the entire game, right, didn't get flustered. They got back there on a couple of plays, and he didn't allow that to fluster him. He continued to press forward -continued to make plays. Make great decisions with the football.

"So just proud of him having the resolve to just continue to push through. He had a nice rush there to get us in the red zone. Just made smart plays with the football all day."

During the build-up to facing the Ravens, Stroud had even lamented how he wasn't as fleet of foot as he used to be, so Ryans noting his running ability should most certainly boost his confidence.

Oct 5, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

Having said that, especially given the emphasis the new look Texans offense has been putting on Stroud being a real surgeon with his arm, the fact he shared the ball out to so many receivers really impressed coach Ryans.

"Yeah, I love to see him [Stroud] spreading the ball around to multiple guys, everybody getting involved,” Ryans said about ten pass catchers catching a pass. "That just shows his growth, where we're not just looking for one guy. He's going through his progressions, he's playing the play. And whatever is there, he's taking it."

"Our playmakers when they're getting the football in their hand, they're making plays– they're converting first downs. Keeping us on the field, allowing us to sustain drives. So, love that– that he was able to dish it around to multiple guys today."

Coaching is beginning to really show up for the now 2-3 Texans as they head into the bye week, especially because there could have been a real danger that the Ravens’ injuries could have made them a little complacent.

Ultimately, that was never going to happen with Ryans at the wheel; coach was determined to drive home the importance of keeping their foot to the floor.

"It's always all about us and our focus," Ryans declared. "And no matter who we're playing, no matter where we're playing. If we're locked in the right way and we execute– we do the things that are required to win football games, that's what it's going to look like."

"No matter what, who you're going against, when you play the right way, you execute; that's the way it should look like.”

With some precious downtime now available to catch their breath and take stock, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of this huge road win is offensive coordinator Nick Caley.

After their massively deflating winless start to the campaign, the scrutiny of the first-year coordinator came down heavy, but Ryans stood by his guy rather stoically.

So, now that the fundamental levels of execution have improved substantially, perhaps Ryans is fully justified to give his own guy some flowers.

"Caley's done a great job," Ryans enthused about his offensive coordinator.

"It didn't show the first weeks, because we didn't execute well. But we came out today, and guys executed. We run our offense the right way. We run our defense -- our special teams unit when we do it the right way -- it's what we're capable of doing."

"We just have to stay the course, everybody. And continue to get better as coaches, as players, everybody. And we're all in this together. We're all growing. We're all getting better as the season continues to go along."

Of course, nobody is denying that if the Ravens had been playing with a full deck they almost certainly wouldn't be on the receiving end of a serious whipping, but the Texans aren't complaining either.

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