The Steelers have a history-setting challenge against the Texans. No, seriously. While the 1-2 Texans appear to be a young team rounding into form, no one is catching onto the NFL faster at the QB position than C.J. Stroud. His stats through three starts break most precedents set by the position. For one, he set the NFL record for most pass attempts without an interception in his first three career starts.
Stroud’s 121 attempts without an interception thrown through three starts shatter Warren Moon’s mark by 18 attempts. He’s the only quarterback through three starts with more than 900 yards passing, four touchdowns, and no interceptions. This young rookie is not your average player, and that is behind a patchwork offensive line. That situation won’t improve with Josh Jones and Laremy Tunsil out for their matchup against the Steelers on Sunday, but Stroud has proven he can overcome those circumstances.
Only three quarterbacks have over 900 yards passing through their first three starts — Justin Herbert, Cam Newton, and C.J. Stroud. That’s not bad company to keep if you hope to become a franchise quarterback. So, while all the pundits harp on just how good Stroud has looked so far, understand just how rare it is for a quarterback to put up those stats early on. They have not faced a pass rush quite like Pittsburgh’s, but Stroud will have chances to beat the Steelers secondary if the offensive line gives him time.
The Steelers have won nine consecutive games when facing a rookie signal caller, and under head coach Mike Tomlin, the team is 23-4 when going up against first-year quarterbacks. This will be the fourth-earliest in the season that Tomlin has faced a rookie, but he said that Stroud doesn’t look like a wet-behind-the-ears neophyte.
“Stroud is doing an awesome job,” Tomlin said. “He looks mature beyond his years. He looks like a guy that just wore the responsibility of being a franchise quarterback at Ohio State. You know what I mean. Some programs are different than others and you do it for multiple years at a place like that man, it’s probably very similar in terms of wearing the responsibility of being a quarterback for an organization at this level. He doesn’t appear to be overwhelmed by it at all. He manages himself in game and out of game with a maturity level that’s impressive. He’s good at extending plays. He’s not just a runner when he starts to escape, his downfield vision is excellent as he extends.”
Expect the Steelers to try and rattle the former Ohio State signal-caller finally. But with underrated weapons to throw to in Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Robert Woods, and Brevin Jordan, he has the group of weapons that could give Pittsburgh trouble. It will be up to the Steelers to shock the unflappable rookie down to Earth and give him a ‘Welcome to the NFL’ moment.