It is a shame the Houston Texans’ season started out the way it did with a 2-5 record going into the bye. They have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball, especially with quarterback C.J. Stroud, who is having the best year of his career this season. Head coach DeMeco Ryans said he has seen more confidence and leadership from Stroud during the offseason and during games.

“The biggest factor is confidence. That's the one thing that stands out to me. Another cool thing about C.J. is what he did over the summer, spending time with all the receivers, having them come out to work out with him. He organized workouts and had those guys make sure they showed up so they can work on their timing, work on their chemistry. That's what I see,” Ryans said. “I see us benefiting a lot from him and his leadership from the summer. That's showing up now because of how he took the time to think about his teammates and make sure everybody came out and got some work in together with him. I think it says a lot about his leadership, says a lot about him and just how dialed in he is. Now you see that confidence, you see that chemistry, you see it really at the highest level that it's been since we've been here.”

Stroud was negotiating with the Texans to receive an extension prior to this season. But Stroud did not accept Houston’s $55-million a year offer and instead chose to bet on himself. That bet seems to be paying off. If he keeps up his current pace, Stroud will certainly get a contract closer to what he was asking for, which was over $60 million a year.