What C.J. Stroud Said After Texans' 26-0 Blowout Win vs. Titans

The Houston Texans were able to finally get back on track with a win in Week 4 of the season, rising up to 1-3 in a shutout victory vs. their division rival Tennessee Titans, 26-0, in a dominant showing on defense and a much-improved display on offense.

But it wasn't quite a commanding win from start to finish for the Texans.

Heading into the half, Houston was only leading 6-0 following two favorable missed kicks from Titans' kicker Joey Slye, and it almost looked scarily similar to the struggling offensive performances they had faced through the initial three weeks of the year.

Yet, after a fourth-quarter receiving touchdown from Woody Marks took the Texans up 12-0, Houston blew the doors off on the offensive end.

The Texans would score a touchdown on their following two drives to their pair of rookies, Higgins and Marks again, to have their best scoring performance since Week 12 of last season.

In the mind of quarterback C.J. Stroud, sometimes, to get the operation firing on all cylinders, it takes just one explosive play to get things to fall in their favor.

"Sometimes it just takes that one play, that one drive, that one point of emphasis to finally get the things rolling, that we know that we can do," Stroud said during his post-game press conference. "I think that's the cool thing about playing football is it's different every year."

"It's different every game, and you've just got to find the niche. And I think we did that, but we gotta just go back to practice and continue to get better."

THERE'S A SNAKE IN HIS BOOT!!!

📺 | @nfloncbs / @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/bpTKPTrmYm
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) September 28, 2025

Beyond Stroud, who had his most passing yards and touchdowns of the season so far, it was a standout performance in multiple aspects for the Texans.

One of those areas was their rushing attack, which was led by the two-headed tandem of Nick Chubb and Woody Marks to log a combined 30 carries for 136 yards, and their best day on the ground of the season by a wide margin.

Stroud, of course, also gave credit where it's due to the run game as a big reason for their offensive success.

"Running the ball is huge," Stroud said. "Anything positive on first down helps, and I think Woody and Chubb did a great job. Even in the passing game they did a really good job.  But, yeah, that's what it's going take to win, is having a balanced game, and I thought [Nick Caley] did a good job of keeping a balance."

"Every game, that's huge. You gotta be able to run the ball in this league. I thought [Nick] Chubb and Woody [Marks], they complement each other really well, and our o-line did amazing, both run blocking and pass blocking. Our tight ends stepped in there and did their job, and receivers as well in the run game."

Sep 28, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback CJ. Stroud (7) calls an audible during the first half against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

That praise from Stroud extended to the defensive side of the ball after the game as well.

The Texans put together their first shutout performance in 15 years, limited Tennessee to less than 200 total offensive yards, and had the Titans' number from start to finish behind a stout front seven and secondary.

"Our defense played amazing," Stroud said. "Of course, it starts with Azeez [Al-Shaair], his playcalling with DeMeco [Ryans]. I thought they did a great job of mixing coverage and stunting with the d-line and things like that. Man coverage was sticky. Kamari [Lassiter] played a great game. Calen [Bullock], all the guys in the back.  I thought MJ [Stewart] stepped up and did a great job."

"I think, when you hold a team to zero points in the NFL, that's big time. Like, it doesn't happen a bunch. So, yeah. Shoutout to them boys. They did a great job, and I'm very grateful to have a defense like that."

Following a tough division loss last week vs. the Jacksonville Jaguars, this week vs. the Titans acted as a huge step in the right direction for the Texans, both for their season as a whole and their standing within the AFC South– especially as Houston's next game against a divisional opponent lies in Week 9.

But Stroud is making sure to take that process one day at a time. Any game is important, especially in the division, but he's not trying to "big-scale" anything earlier than it needs to be.

"We focus on one game at a time," Stroud said of winning a division game. "When we play another division opponent, they're always important. Every game is important in his league. So, we're focused on one game at a time, and I think when you big-scale things too early, is when bad things happen.  So, I'm just 1-0, trying to get 1-0 every week."

The Texans will have one more week of action vs. the Baltimore Ravens on the road before getting some rest during their Week 6 bye, but in the meantime, Stroud and this group can take a much-needed breath of fresh air with their first victory of the season.

More Houston Texans Content