Houston Texans rookie quarterback CJ Stroud came out of the game in the third quarter with an injury scare but returned almost immediately to lead his team to a Week 11 victory over the Arizona Cardinals. After the game, his head coach DeMeco Ryans explained what happened to his budding superstar signal-caller.

“DeMeco Ryans said CJ Stroud got the wind knocked out of him, on the sack where he had to come out briefly,” Houston Chronicle Texans beat writer Jonathan M. Alexander reported after the game on Sunday afternoon.

Stroud, Ryans, and the Texans got lucky in that situation as their rookie QB took a monster hit and had to exit the game. After one play out, Stroud returned, though, and converted on a big 3rd-and-19 play. The drive resulted in a missed field goal, but it was impressive nonetheless.

After the CJ Stroud injury scare, the rookie QB was excellent for his team. His best moment of the game was a beautiful 40-yard touchdown pass to give the Texans a 21-10 lead against the Cardinals, which would prove to be the game-winner.

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Stroud finished the game 27-of-37 for 336 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Throwing that many picks is obviously not great, but playing through adversity and winning the game in the end is another impressive notch in Stroud’s belt.

The rookie QB now has his first-year head coach, DeMeco Ryans, and the Texans at 6-4 and in prime position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019. And at this point, he basically has the NFL Rookie of the Year Award wrapped up. Now, the only question is, can he continue to keep his name in the NFL MVP discussion as well?