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When you throw five touchdown passes, you get to take home hardware.
That's the case for Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud entering Week 11.
Stroud has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance in a 44-22 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the NFL announced Wednesday morning.
On Sunday, in his return to Los Angeles, Stroud posted a 125.5 passer rating while completing 60.0% of his pass attempts for 384 yards and five touchdowns. The Texans opened the game on an eight-play, 73-yard drive, where Stroud completed five-of-five passes for 53 yards, culminating in a touchdown pass to Xavier Hutchinson for an early 7-0 lead.
The five passing touchdowns tied Stroud's career high and marked the second time in his career that he has thrown for 350 yards while leading five scoring drives through the air. His first came in Week 9's win versus Tampa Bay in 2023, where a touchdown pass to Tank Dell in the final seconds secured a win at Reliant Stadium.
Stroud's 384 passing yards and five touchdowns led the NFL in both categories in Week 9. He recorded the third-highest passer rating (125.5) and finished top five in completion percentage.
The fourth-year Pro Bowl quarterback has helped lead the Texans offense to the highest point total in the AFC in Week 9 (44). Stroud was also the only AFC quarterback to throw for over 300 passing yards.
Houston's 44 points were tied for the most in franchise in a road game.
"When you see a guy who is lighting it up like C.J. is, it grabs everyone's attention," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said Monday. "Whether we're here on the sidelines watching him or you're a fan watching at home, you have to be pleased with what you see. The performance, you have to be in awe of some of the throws he's making, the accuracy and then it's the receivers. He can't do it without the receivers who are showing up big time for him, making some really tough catches look very easy."
In eight games, Stroud has completed 64.2% of pass attempts for 2,251 yards and 16 touchdowns against two interceptions. He's also posted a passer rating of 104.8. Stroud leads the AFC in touchdown-to-interception ratio (8.0), is tied for first in completions of at least 20 yards (32), ranks second in passing yards per game (281.4) and ranks third in passer rating.
"I see us benefiting a lot from him and his leadership from the summer," Ryans said. "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.”
The Texans hit the road for a second week to take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. Kickoff on FOX is scheduled for Noon.