C.J. Stroud wants to make it clear that the Houston Texans‘ effort level was unacceptable during Sunday’s 14-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. The franchise quarterback took his teammates to task following the season opener, blaming attitude and a bad week of practice on their performance.

“We didn’t deserve to win that game because we didn’t do the right things,” Stroud said. “When you come out in the NFL lollygagging and going through the motions, that kind of happens. I think we’ll be all right, but I think it’s a good wakeup call for us.”

The Texans managed three field goals on five first-half possessions to lead, 9-7, at intermission before two turnovers and a pair of punts doomed the offense in the second half.

After winning the AFC South last season, the Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round of the playoffs before falling to the Kansas City Chiefs the following weekend.

Sunday’s opener was supposed to a fresh, impressive start to 2025, but instead resulted in just 265 total yards and a disappointing effort on third down.

“I love the confidence we have, but there’s a type of mindset of, ‘Did I do enough?'” Stroud said. “I think it’s healthy, because you’ll probably do more. Just for me, preparing, I’ve got to do a better job, and I’ve also got to hold all of my guys accountable. And it’s the first game of the year. We got a lot of exotic looks we did not expect. They did, too. They made the plays. You can come up with a million excuses. We’ve just got to be better.”

The Rams sacked Stroud three times. He finished 19 of 27 for 188 yards and an interception. Dating back to last season’s playoff loss to the Chiefs, this marks the first time in Stroud’s NFL career that he’s gone consecutive games without a touchdown pass.

Houston’s defense kept the Rams at bay and gave the Texans a chance in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s not easy, (but) it’s something, just, what are you going to do, complain about it?” Stroud said. “Are you going to lay down, or are you going to go play? For me, I just try to go and compete as best I can and show those guys, I don’t care who’s in there. I trust in you. I try to play as hard as I can to show them I’m there for them.”