Texans overcome Stroud's first interception to outlast New Orleans 20-13

Six games into his first year as a pro was all it took for Houston Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud to throw his first interception, but even that didn’t stop the former Ohio State University star from leading the Texans to a hard-fought 20-13 home victory over the New Orleans Saints.

Stroud expressed his satisfaction with the win and praised his teammates for their resilience and fighting spirit. In a Facebook post on the Texans' page on October 15th, the 22-year-old quarterback said, "[I’m] happy with the win and proud of my guys for being resilient and fighting."

Despite the interception thrown to New Orleans' Zack Baun, Stroud quickly got the ball back after Nico Collins forced a turnover. This turnover led to Stroud connecting with Dalton Schultz for the first score of the game. According to Houston CBS station KHOU News, Stroud had gone 192 pass attempts without an interception prior to this game.

In addition to the touchdown pass to Schultz, Stroud threw another touchdown pass to Robert Woods in the following quarter, bringing his total to nine touchdown passes. He finished the game with 197 yards on 13-of-27 passing, as reported by Yahoo Sports.

The victory over the Saints brings the Texans' record to 3-3, placing them at the .500 mark and sharing second place in the American Football Conference (AFC) South with the Indianapolis Colts, according to Yahoo Sports.

The Texans will have a bye week in Week 7 before facing the Carolina Panthers in Week 8. The matchup between the Texans and Panthers is highly anticipated, as it features the top two picks of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers used the No. 1 overall selection to draft Bryce Young from the University of Alabama, while the Texans selected Stroud shortly after.