C.J. Stroud threw his first career interception against the Saints on Sunday, more than a month into his debut season. The first-round rookie's ability to avoid mistakes was one of his calling cards at Ohio State, and that ability served him well during his first five games as the Houston Texans' starting quarterback, in which he made history for his aversion to turnovers.
During Houston's Week 5 matchup in Atlanta, Stroud set an NFL record by starting his career with 177 pass attempts without an interception. Stroud broke the record previously held by Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott, who had broken Tom Brady's previous record of 162 pass attempts without a pick.
Stroud's interception, however, wasn't too costly as the Saints gave it right back by fumbling the ball on the same play.
Wow, CJ Stroud just threw his first pick of the season…. And the Texans got it right back by forcing a fumble and recovering 😂pic.twitter.com/PTYj2ixkBx
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) October 15, 2023
Once Houston got the ball back, Stroud made the Saints pay by throwing a touchdown pass to Dalton Schultz.
The No. 2 overall pick in April's draft, Stroud had already made NFL history during his first four games. His 1,212 passing yards through four games was the second-most in NFL history for a first-year player (Cam Newton holds the record with 1,386 yards in 2011), via the Associated Press. He's also the sixth player to throw for at least 1,200 yards with no picks in the first four games of a season. The previous five: Aaron Rodgers (2020), Patrick Mahomes (2018 and '19), Drew Brees (2018), Brady (2015 and '17) and Peyton Manning (2013).
Stroud is also one of three starting quarterbacks this season to not throw a pick after four starts. The two others are 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and the Cardinals' Joshua Dobbs.
