What C.J. Stroud told Houston Texans in postgame speech after loss to Cowboys. ‘We can go 13-4’

C.J. Stroud wanted to say something to his Houston Texans teammates after Sunday’s 34-30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Very few things have gone right for the Texans, now sitting at 0-4. But Stroud still believes in the team.

“His message after the game was straight up like we can go 13-4,” said tight end Brevin Jordan, who played in a regular season game Sunday for the first time in two years. “Like why not? Who cares what people say. Who cares what people think. Whatever the situation is, let’s just show up to work tomorrow. Let’s get it fixed and let’s run the table.”

But there was also something else Stroud got across, according to his fellow captain Will Anderson Jr.: The only people who will be able to revive the season are the Texans themselves.

“I think C.J. hit it on the head after the game,” Anderson said. “Nobody coming to save us…We gotta go out there and play grown-man football and we gotta take accountability.”

Stroud declined to get into the specifics of what he said after the game, explaining that he wanted to keep it within the team.

COWBOYS 34, TEXANS 30

First Quarter

Hou_Collins 7 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 10:01. Drive: 9 plays, 85 yards, 4:59. Key Plays: Stroud 45 pass to Collins; Stroud 13 pass to B.Jordan.
Houston 7, Dallas 0.

Dal_FG Aubrey 39, 5:10. Drive: 11 plays, 44 yards, 4:51. Key Plays: Prescott 8 pass to Lamb on 3rd-and-2; Prescott 19 pass to Flournoy on 3rd-and-6.
Houston 7, Dallas 3.

Hou_FG Fairbairn 51, 1:49. Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 3:21. Key Plays: Stroud 52 pass to Noel; Stroud 5 pass to Collins on 3rd-and-17.
Houston 10, Dallas 3.

Second Quarter

Dal_FG Aubrey 50, 12:30. Drive: 9 plays, 36 yards, 4:19. Key Plays: Turpin kick return to Dallas 32; Prescott 8 pass to Lamb on 3rd-and-6; Prescott 1 pass to J.Williams on 3rd-and-6.
Houston 10, Dallas 6.

Hou_FG Fairbairn 39, 2:05. Drive: 6 plays, 28 yards, 2:53. Key Play: Stroud 18 pass to Collins.
Houston 13, Dallas 6.

Hou_FG Fairbairn 54, :00. Drive: 4 plays, 9 yards, 00:26.
Houston 16, Dallas 6.

Third Quarter

Dal_J.Williams 8 run (Aubrey kick), 12:55. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 2:05. Key Plays: Turpin kick return to Houston 49; Prescott 30 pass to Lamb.
Houston 16, Dallas 13.

Hou_Collins 22 pass from Stroud (Fairbairn kick), 10:50. Drive: 5 plays, 46 yards, 2:05. Key Plays: Noel kick return to Dallas 38; Stroud 10 pass to Hutchinson.
Houston 23, Dallas 13.

Dal_J.Williams 1 run (Aubrey kick), 6:49. Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 4:01. Key Plays: Turpin kick return to Dallas 36; Prescott 53 pass to Pickens; Prescott 1 run on 3rd-and-4.
Houston 23, Dallas 20.

Fourth Quarter

Dal_J.Williams 2 run (Aubrey kick), 11:17. Drive: 14 plays, 81 yards, 8:47. Key Plays: Prescott 16 pass to Lamb on 3rd-and-1; Prescott 9 pass to Flournoy on 3rd-and-7; Prescott 21 pass to Lamb; Prescott 17 pass to Lamb.
Dallas 27, Houston 23.

Hou_Marks 6 run (Fairbairn kick), 2:23. Drive: 9 plays, 92 yards, 4:32. Key Plays: Stroud 26 pass to Hutchinson; Stroud 13 pass to Collins on 3rd-and-2; Stroud 22 pass to Noel; Stroud 21 pass to Schultz on 3rd-and-14.
Houston 30, Dallas 27.

Dal_Lamb 12 pass from Prescott (Aubrey kick), :40. Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 1:43. Key Plays: Turpin kick return to Dallas 26; Prescott 7 pass to Ferguson on 4th-and-4; Prescott 15 pass to Lamb; Prescott 22 pass to Pickens.
Dallas 34, Houston 30.

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING_Dallas, J.Williams 19-62, Goodson 3-12, Prescott 2-7, Lamb 1-(minus 6). Houston, Montgomery 10-24, Marks 6-22, Stroud 2-12, Noel 1-4.

PASSING_Dallas, Prescott 32-45-0-335. Houston, Stroud 21-31-0-347.

RECEIVING_Dallas, Lamb 17-189, J.Williams 5-21, Flournoy 4-37, Ferguson 3-11, Pickens 2-75, Luepke 1-2. Houston, Collins 7-118, Noel 3-85, Hutchinson 3-46, Boutte 3-36, Schultz 2-9, Stover 1-20, B.Jordan 1-13, Moreau 1-1.

PUNT RETURNS_Dallas, Turpin 4-47. Houston, Noel 2-8.

KICKOFF RETURNS_Dallas, Turpin 5-147. Houston, Noel 4-106, T.Smith 3-55.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS_Dallas, Hooker 5-2-0, Downs 4-1-0, Steward 4-0-0, Bland 3-0-0, Winters 2-3-0, Q.Williams 2-2-1, Gary 2-0-1, K.Clark 1-3-0, Ezeiruaku 1-2-0, Ogbonnia 1-1-0, Speed 1-1-0, Barham 1-0-0, James 1-0-0, Lawrence 1-0-0, Overton 0-2-0, Garcia 0-1-0. Houston, Hansen 7-5-1, Lassiter 7-1-0, Pitre 6-2-0, Blankenship 5-5-0, Bullock 4-4-0, Anderson 3-2-.5, Clowney 2-2-.5, Ramsey 2-0-0, Togiai 1-4-0, Murray 1-3-0, Rankins 1-1-0, Hunter 0-2-.5, L.Hall 0-2-0, Crumedy 0-1-.5.

INTERCEPTIONS_Dallas, None. Houston, None.

MISSED FIELD GOALS_Dallas, Aubrey 65, Aubrey 62.

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OFFICIALS_Referee Brad Allen, Ump Marcus Woods, HL Sarah Thomas, LJ Walter Flowers, FJ Anthony Flemming, SJ Chad Hill, BJ Tyree Walton, Replay Jim Van Geffen.

But Stroud did tell the media he wants the group to stay together despite the rough start.

“I just wanted to get in front of them and just let them know how much I believe in them and trust in them,” Stroud said. “I know we’re not in a good spot, and it’s not where anybody wants to be. But I’ve seen other teams do it before. I know we’ve done it.”

Stroud, a captain since being selected second overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, has been arguably Houston’s best player on offense this season. He played another good game against the Cowboys.

The fourth-year starter was 21 of 31 for 347 passing yards and two touchdowns in Sunday’s 34-30 loss. His 347 passing yards is the fifth-best mark of his career and the second time he’s thrown for 300-plus yards in a game this season.

Typically, when Stroud has thrown for more than 300 yards, he’s done so in part because he threw the ball a lot. In the prior 10 times he eclipsed 300 passing yards, he did so averaging 40.3 attempts per game. That wasn’t the case Sunday. His 11.2 yards per attempt was the highest of his career, slightly edging out his previous best mark.

“At the end of the day, we ought to be able to win,” Stroud said. 

A winless start to the season is nothing new for Stroud, Anderson and head coach DeMeco Ryans. Houston started 0-2 in 2023 and 0-3 2025. The Texans made the playoffs both times, winning the division that first time around as well.

But 0-4 is different from 0-3. Just one team has ever made the playoffs after starting 0-4.

One way Houston can try and become the second is doing something by Stroud and Anderson highlighted as something the team must do better.

“We gotta finish,” Stroud said. “We’ve shown that we can create explosives. We can have high-scoring games. We could get ahead when we need to. But I think the best thing that we need to do, or really the main thing we need to do, is finish.”

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This article originally published at What C.J. Stroud told Houston Texans in postgame speech after loss to Cowboys. ‘We can go 13-4’.