Texans' C.J. Stroud Slips Out of Top 10 NFL QB Rankings

It only took one game into the 2025 NFL season for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud to see his stock take a dip among the league's best signal callers.

Following the Week 1 action around the league, NFL.com's Nick Shook stacked up a tier list of the best quarterbacks across the league from 1-32, with Buffalo Bills reigning MVP Josh Allen sitting at the top spot, all the way down to 32, which happened to be Tua Tagovailoa after the abysmal performance seen on Sunday with the Miami Dolphins.

For Stroud, though, after Houston's 9-14 loss vs. the LA Rams, his ranking dropped him two spots down from his previous placement at 9th to 11th, being leapfrogged by Jalen Hurts at 8th and Dak Prescott at 10th.

"Houston's offensive line still isn't holding up well for C.J. Stroud, but there were minor improvements compared to last year's nightmare," Shook wrote. "He overcame it in spots and delivered some beautiful passes, but it still needs to be better for him to truly be at his best."

Stroud was still in the same second tier of quarterbacks, as were Hurts, Prescott, and other talents like Matthew Stafford and Justin Herbert, but it reflects a not-so-ideal start to the new season for the third-year signal caller.

Sep 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) gestures against the Los Angeles Rams in the first half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

On Sunday, Stroud faced some consistent issues upfront, finished as one of three teams in the NFL to not score a touchdown within the first week, and overall, wound up leaving a bit of a disappointing feeling surrounding this Texans offense for their season opener in SoFi. Thus, it didn't take long for his standing amongst the league's top quarterbacks to shift as a result.

It wasn't just a porous offensive line that worked against Stroud on Sunday, though. Sean McVay and Co. led out a challenging Rams defensive front to go against first-year offensive coordinator Nick Caley's game plan in his first regular-season game, and Houston had a multitude of injuries both up front and at receiver that surely didn't make things easier for the Texans' quarterback.

Even with the difficulties faced offensively, Stroud threw 19/27 for nearly 200 yards and even had some work on the ground with five carries for 32 yards.

We know Stroud is capable of creating a much bigger dent as a playmaker. But, at the same time, it's only one game, and one that put the Texans' quarterback in a bit of a disadvantaged situation that he still managed to make the most of, which even put Houston in position for a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

Another week into the action for Week 2 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this time being at home, should present a great opportunity for Stroud to bounce back, show the world he's still a top ten quarterback, and, in turn, get the Texans on the board with their first victory of the new season.

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