This Saturday, the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Rams will conclude their preseasons by facing off against each other. Both teams obviously have amazing quarterbacks: The Texans have 2023 rookie sensation C.J. Stroud, and the Rams have future Hall of Famer Matthew Stafford. The two teams are engaging in joint practices this week in preparation.
When asked Thursday about Stafford and Rams head coach Sean McVay — one of the NFL’s most elegant offensive shot-callers — Stroud didn’t go light on the praise.
“I am a superfan of his,” Stroud said of McVay. “The type of scheme he runs, the way he calls it, the way he uses guys in motion, and just a whole bunch of different things. He seems like a good guy and he just had some tips and pointers and also showed me a lot of love, which I appreciated. I appreciate him more than he knows, just watching film and getting better from the stuff that he does in that offense along with Matt and those guys. It is definitely an honor just to know that he knows me, which is dope.”
Makes sense, as the offenses run by McVay and Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik have similarities in their condensed formations, multiple run game concepts, and route designs that can beat any defense.
As for Stafford, Stroud has been watching him for a long time. When Stafford was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in the 2009 NFL draft, Stroud was seven years old.
“First, what jumped out to me from him was his toughness,” Stroud said of Stafford. “He is tough as nails. I remember watching him on ‘Mic’d Up” and he broke his shoulder or something weird like that and he finished the drive. His shoulder ended up falling out of place and I respect that because it is not easy. Just how he manipulates guys with his eyes, his drops, his arm angles — I have been a fan of Matthew Stafford for a long time. I wasn’t trying to be a fanboy today, but I asked him a lot of questions. I tried to just learn, and he was really honest with me and wasn’t mean, which I appreciate, so I am definitely a huge fan of his. Definitely one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time. I feel like sharing a field with him was dope.”
The game to which Stroud referred happened on Nov. 22, 2009. Stafford suffered a separated shoulder with eight seconds left in the game after a hard tackle by Browns linebacker C.J. Mosley. The Browns called two timeouts as Stafford lay in pain on the field and was checked by the team’s medical staff.
Because there was a penalty on the play — defensive pass interference called on Browns defensive back Hank Poteat — the Lions had an untimed down left, and Stafford insisted on staying in the game. Stafford then threw the game-winner to tight end Brandon Pettigrew, and at least part of a legend was born.
The Lions won, 38-37, and Stafford became the first rookie to throw five touchdown passes in a game since 1937, when Ray Buivid of the Chicago Bears did it.
Four rookie quarterbacks have done it since — Jameis Winston in 2015, Deshaun Watson in 2017, Daniel Jones (no, really) in 2019… and C.J. Stroud in 2023 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Nov. 5.
As for Stafford, his respect for Stroud is entirely mutual, and Stafford went right to the tape in his head to demonstrate why. Stafford had Stroud’s preseason touchdown pass to receiver Tank Dell against the Pittsburgh Steelers on a dagger concept versus Pittsburgh’s Cover-3 buzz. The Steelers presented a two-high look pre-snap, and buzzed safety DeShon Elliott down.
Stroud read it all like first-grade English.
“It’s likewise for me,” Stafford said of Stroud. “I’m a huge fan of watching him play. Throws the ball with ease, plays with a really calm aggression. His first touchdown to Tank Dell —letter of the law in the preseason this year. That’s buzz coverage right into a dagger window. Usually not throwing that ball, but hey, they didn’t play it as well as they could, and he fit in there for a touchdown. That’s playing ball in an aggressive way, but smart. I’ll let him know that I thought it was a pretty sweet play. He plays at a really high level, especially for a young kid. They have a lot of talent around him which is a lot of fun to watch, and he does a great job of getting those guys the ball.”
(One more example of quarterbacks having recall skills that just aren’t normal. Sheesh).
Stroud is not the only young quarterback who views Stafford as a role model — Chicago Bears rookie sensation Caleb Williams wasn’t at all pleased that Stafford ranked 42nd overall in the NFL’s most recent Top 100 players list.
It all means a lot to the veteran.
“It’s humbling,” Stafford said. “I remember being in their shoes thinking the same thing about Brett Favre and Peyton Manning when I got to go against those guys at the beginning of my career. I’m not putting myself in that same breath, but the older guys. It was a really cool experience. I’ll never forget playing Brett when he was in Minnesota and I was in Detroit, and he came up to me and was like, ‘Hey man, I’m a big fan.’ I’m like, ‘You can’t say that to me, right? I’m the fan of you. I’ve been watching you play for forever.’ So it is cool.
“It’s humbling that these guys are paying attention and as big of fans as they might be of me, I wish nothing but the best for those guys. This position is hard. It’s humbling. It’s difficult. There are ups [and] there are downs. Guys that play this position for a long time know you have to stick together and pull for each other so I’m pulling for those guys.”
You’d have to go a long way out of the realms of reality to avoid admiring what Matthew Stafford has done in his NFL career, and it’s clear that in his particular mutual admiration society, the young quarterbacks coming up in the league know just how great he has always been.
