C.J. Stroud says Texans must have 'hard conversations' after last-second loss to Buccaneers

Houston's franchise player come to grips after the offense struggles for a second straight outing

After ripping his team following their season-opening loss, Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said it was time to have "hard conversations" following Monday night's 20-19 result against the Tampa Bay  Buccaneers. An 0-2 start was not on the bingo card for Houston, which won a playoff game last season.

"Everybody's going to talk crazy and say we suck and we're this and that," Stroud said.. "But at the end of the day, we've got to stay together and ... be honest and have hard conversations. But I think right now we need more confidence as an offense, just confidently playing better together. I think that's a big thing."

Tampa sacked Stroud three times, and he finished 13 of 24 for 207 yards and a touchdown, watching from the sideline in the final seconds as Baker Mayfield led Tampa Bay on a game-winning march. 

Trailing 19-14 with just over two minutes remaining, Mayfield led an 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive to secure the comeback victory. He went 7 of 9 for 63 yards on the way down the field, but his biggest play was undoubtedly a 15-yard scramble to convert a fourth-and-10 opportunity from the Bucs' own 32-yard line.

Stroud found Nico Collins on a well-placed touchdown pass on Houston's first possession, the team's first touchdown of the season after managing only three field goals in their season-opening loss to the Rams. 

That was the last time the Texans found any semblance of a rhythm offensively, however. Houston has scored a league-low 28 total points over their first two games.

"You can make a bunch of excuses, but we're just not getting it done, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters," Stroud said.