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The Texans left London with a win because their quarterback refused to let one mistake define the afternoon.
Late in Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, QB C.J. Stroud threw an interception. The Jaguars turned it into a field goal to tie the game. What came next, according to HC DeMeco Ryans, started on the sideline.
"C.J. was still under control," Ryans said. "Even the interception, it could be -- it's a huge letdown. You don't want that to happen, but to see C.J. and see his resolve, his mindset was, hey, I got you, Coach. Don't worry about it, and when a player tells me that, that just gives me the confidence that I need, hey, we're right back in this thing."
Flush It and Move On
Stroud said the key was not carrying the turnover into the next series.
"Yeah, of course I don't want to make that mistake, but I thought I was playing well," Stroud said. "I thought I was playing really good and putting the ball where I need to put it. I just made a mistake, and I've learned in my life I've got to flush my failures, flush my successes and just move on. [We] came back and got the ball. Our defense did a great job holding them to three points and gave me the ball back and went down and had a game-winning drive. I appreciate them having my back in that, and my teammates were telling me how great I was playing. What they think of me in that moment really meant a lot."
His mindset when the offense took the field?
"I was excited. I got the ball back, tie game, let's go win the game. Just be aggressive," Stroud said. "Those moments, I try my best to stay calm, even keel, and try to put our team in position to win."
Joy Is a Choice
Stroud traced his approach back to Saturday's team chapel with DL coach Rod Wright.
"We talked about joy, and that's been on my mind a lot lately, and in our faith, joy is a choice," Stroud said. "Being happy, it's nice, but happy means around you. Joy is a choice. Our whole team, we wanted to pick joy today... We had the turnover and then we come back and get the ball back and go down and score, so that's having joy right there."
Ryans said the response is what stood out.
"He understands the mistakes he made as soon as it happened. Didn't want it to happen, but look at the way he responded, and [he] responded in an outstanding way, leading the two-minute drive there to set us up for a game-winning field goal."
C.J. Stroud's Game-Winning Drive: What to Know
What did C.J. Stroud tell DeMeco Ryans after the interception? Ryans said Stroud's message was, "hey, I got you, Coach. Don't worry about it."
How did the Texans' offense hold up in pass protection? The Texans allowed no sacks. "Our offensive line did a great job protecting C.J., no sacks today," Ryans said.
Who gets credit for the play calls on the final drive? Stroud pointed to OC Nick Caley: "Great call by Caley and great job by our team executing."
