Houston Texans rookie quarterback will always have a great story to tell about his first NFL completion. After all, he had a great view of how the play unfolded.
C.J. Stroud’s first pass of the season was caught by himself, and he wasn’t the only QB to do it
The Texans rookie caught his own first NFL passing attempt
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
Because he caught his own pass.
Stroud is making his NFL debut today against the Baltimore Ravens, and after the Houston defense forced an early three-and-out from the Ravens, it was time for Stroud’s first regular season series.
After a run from Dameon Pierce on first down gained three yards, Stroud dropped back on second down for his first NFL attempt, and ended up making the catch:
Stroud tries to throw a quick screen pass to the right, but a blitzing Roquan Smith gets his hands up and deflects the pass into the air. Stroud, rather alertly, snatches the falling football out of the air — preventing an interception — and manages to get back to the line of scrimmage to prevent disaster.
Stroud was not the only young quarterback to complete a pass to himself as games unfolded Sunday. Down in the NFC South Atlanta Falcons quarterback Desmond Ridder dropped back for his own first attempt of the 2023 NFL regular season, and ended up catching the pass himself in similar fashion:
Similar to Stroud’s reception, Ridder’s alert reaction prevents disaster for the Falcons.
However, Atlanta would need to punt as Ridder recovered his own fumble on third down a few snaps later.
Here’s hoping subsequent passing attempts from these two young quarterbacks are caught by some wide receivers, and not themselves.
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