The Houston Texans and their fans had been waiting for CJ Stroud to take the field for quite some time. The Ohio State rookie was selected with the number two overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Stroud received a ringing leadership endorsement from a Texans teammate recently. Stroud led the team into a showdown with the Patriots amid training camp struggles for key Houston players.

Stroud led his first preseason drive for the Texans against Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots on Thursday night, but things went far from expected as Stroud tossed the ball to the other team early.

The interception came courtesy of Patriots DB Jalen Mills, a veteran presence in the team's secondary who kicked off the team's defensive start to 2023 with a bang.

Fans were tough on Stroud in the comments of NFL Twitter but also seemed to give him a bit of a free pass at times.

“Tough start but come on, Belichick loves messing with rookie QBs,” one fan said.

Some began jumping to conclusions over the Texans QB Stroud's alma mater and whether that may factor into his success at the next level.

“Cue the Ohio State QBs are busts comments,” one fan said. “These comments are about to be ruthless,” another added. “Typical Ohio State quarterback…can’t translate in NFL!” another added.

Stroud completed two of three passes for 14 yards and the interception before being replaced by Davis Mills and Case Keenum, who both led the Texans to touchdown drives against the Patriots.

With time winding down in the fourth quarter, the Texans held a 20-9 fourth quarter lead on Belichick's Patriots in hopes of pacing Head Coach DeMeco Ryans to his first win as Texans Head Coach.