How C.J. Stroud and the Texans Solved the Blitz — And Why It Matters Against the Chiefs
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If there has been one defining storyline of the Texans’ 2025 offensive identity, it’s how dramatically they’ve improved against the blitz. It hasn’t been one fix or one player; it has been a systemic overhaul. C.J. Stroud is diagnosing pressure better. The offensive line is no longer busting assignments. And the receivers, after early struggles, are finally reacting to pressure with the same eyes as their quarterback.
Last season under Bobby Slowik and offensive line coach Chris Strausser, the Texans were one of the worst units in football at handling pressure. The core problem wasn’t talent. It was the system. Slowik’s Shanahan-tree offense uses static hots — built-in routes that don’t change based on the defense. If pressure comes, you throw to the designated outlet, even if the look isn’t ideal. Combine that with an offensive line that was getting beat mentally and physically, and the results were predictable: free rushers, sacks, forced throws, and busted plays.
That’s why the transition to Nick Caley’s offense mattered so much. Caley brought in a system built around quarterback control and receiver freedom. Stroud now sets the protection first — something he hadn’t done consistently since college — giving him responsibility for identifying the Mike, understanding where pressure can come from, and adjusting the blocking accordingly. The receivers, meanwhile, have more freedom to adjust their routes on pressure, sight adjustments, and blitz keys.
You can’t run this kind of offense unless everyone sees the picture the same way.
Early Season Growing Pains
The first month of the season reflected that challenge. Stroud admitted early he made protection-ID mistakes in real time — understandable given this was his first true NFL-level exposure to controlling the entire front. But the bigger issue was wide receiver chemistry. Freedom in routes only works when both sides — QB and WR — make the same read. Early on, they weren’t.
A ball that looks “airmailed” or “behind” to fans is often just that: a misread. Stroud reads hot, receiver doesn’t. Receiver converts, Stroud keeps the original. Plays that should have been efficient answers to pressure turned into drive-killers.
It was a theme through training camp and several weeks of live games.
Another thing worth noting — and this is based on watching the film and listening to Stroud and Caley in press conferences — is that it seemed like there was a gradual transition into giving Stroud more full control of the offense at the line. Early in the year you could tell he was still getting comfortable with the protection rules, the checks, and the freedom built into the system. As the weeks went on, Stroud looked far more decisive pre-snap, shifting protections, changing route tags, and getting the offense into the right answers quicker. It’s not something the team has explicitly stated, but the progression on tape suggests the staff trusted him with more control as the chemistry and understanding improved.
The Turning Point: 49ers Week
Everything changed in the San Francisco game.
The 49ers came in banged up on the defensive line. They weren’t generating pressure with four, so Robert Saleh reverted to blitz-heavy football. It should have been a stress test for Houston — especially without Nico Collins, Stroud’s most trusted receiver and safety blanket on pressure looks.
But instead, it became the moment Stroud had no choice but to trust everyone else.
Xavier Hutchinson. Jaylin Noel. Jayden Higgins. Jared Wayne. Braxton Berrios. Dalton Schultz. Woody Marks out of the backfield. Stroud spread the ball to all of them, decisively and efficiently, because for the first time, the receivers were reacting to pressure in real time exactly as the quarterback expected.
The Texans didn’t just survive the blitz. They shredded it.
No Fluke: Denver and Indianapolis
Against Denver — one of the league’s heavier blitz and man-coverage teams under Vance Joseph — Stroud again handled pressure with ease before leaving with the late-slide hit. Three weeks later against Indianapolis, he returned and immediately looked like the same quarterback, punishing the Colts over and over on third-down pressures.
This wasn’t a one-off. It was a structural shift in how Houston handles pressure.
Cole Popovich and the OL Transformation
A major part of the improvement has been the offensive line.
Cole Popovich, promoted from assistant to OL coach, faced heavy skepticism early. But his impact has been massive.
Last year, Houston’s offensive line wasn’t just getting beat physically — they were losing mentally every week. If you don’t pass off games, if you blow assignments, if you fail to recognize simulated pressure, nothing else matters.
This year, the mental errors have all but vanished. Despite multiple combinations up front due to injuries and performance, Houston’s OL is communicating, passing off twists, and staying connected. They rarely allow free runners anymore. A year removed from being a bottom-tier pass pro unit, they’ve climbed to league average — and at times look like a top-10 group.
Talent helps, but this is coaching, communication, and scheme first.
The Data: Stroud’s Blitz Evolution
C.J. Stroud vs Blitz – 2025 Overall
73.4% completion (69/94)
762 yards
8.1 YPA
2 TD
2 INT
10 sacks
2024 (Slowik system)
62.2% completion
6.6 YPA
7 TD
5 INT
28 sacks
And since the offense started clicking after the 49ers game:
vs 49ers: 11/13 (84.6%) • 90 yards • 1 TD • 0 sacks
vs Broncos: 5/6 (83.3%) • 70 yards • 1 sack
vs Colts: 10/12 (83.3%) • 157 yards • 0 sacks • 100% adjusted completion
This is elite-level quarterbacking.
For comparison, here are Davis Mills’ blitz splits from his starts this year:
8/19 (42.1%) • 80 yards • 1 sack in over three and a half games.
This isn’t just the receivers improving — this is C.J. Stroud seeing the field at an elite level.
Why the Ball Getting Out Faster Matters
Caley has emphasized quick-game timing seemingly more than any OC Houston has had since 2002.
Stroud’s Time To Throw:
2024: 3.02 seconds
2025: 2.81 seconds
It’s a massive structural shift.
NFLPRO data supports it:
67.1% of Stroud’s attempts are under 10 air yards — a career high.
He has completed 79.0% of those throws with zero interceptions.
Part of this is by design: shorten the game, negate pressure, and let playmakers run (taking what the defense gives you is another).
And Stroud has been excellent under pressure — even when it isn’t a blitz:
60.3% completion under pressure (2nd-highest in the NFL, highest rate of his career).
Dalton Schultz is his most reliable pressure outlet:
11/14 for 149 yards (78.6%).
Fourth-most QB–TE yards under pressure this season.
Nico Collins has been targeted most (19 times), but they’ve connected on just 47.4%.
Pressure isn’t always blitz, but the correlation is obvious: Houston built an offense to handle both.
A Glimpse at the Chiefs Matchup
All of this development sets up a fascinating matchup with Kansas City.
Historically under Steve Spagnuolo, the Chiefs have been one of the most aggressive and effective blitzing teams in the league. From 2022–2024, they ranked 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in yards/play allowed, pressure rate, and sack rate when blitzing.
But this year?
Per Mina Kimes:
2025 Chiefs When Blitzing:
31st in yards per play
28th in pressure rate
31st in sack rate
This is the worst blitz performance of the Spagnuolo era.
And the Thanksgiving game vs Dallas only magnified it. Dak Prescott was blitzed on 48.7% of dropbacks, his highest rate of the season:
15/19 vs blitz
190 yards
4th-most yards vs blitz in his career
10/12 under pressure for 108 yards and two TDs
Prescott was pressured 12 times… yet took zero sacks
Kansas City couldn’t get home, and when they didn’t, the Cowboys created explosives.
More supporting data from NFLPRO:
The Chiefs blitz at the 5th-highest rate in the league (33.8%).
They generate pressure on just 35.5% of their blitzes —
The lowest of any Spagnuolo defense
5th-lowest in the entire NFL
They allow the 2nd-highest completion rate (69.3%) and 5th-most YPA (8.3) when blitzing.
Their unblocked pressure rate is 7.6% —
Down from top-10 every other year under Spags
Now just 15th
They average 1.8 sacks per game, 6th-fewest in the league.
This is not the same Chiefs blitz unit Houston faced in 2024 and it's not the same offense the Chiefs saw either.
How It Matches Up With Stroud
Stroud ranks:
1st in the NFL in completion percentage vs man coverage (67.1%)
7.4 YPA vs man (7th-highest)
Kansas City, however, is playing their lowest man-coverage rate (27.3%) of the Spagnuolo era. Normally, defenses pair blitzing with man, but Spags seemingly has leaned more into zone blitzes this season because his corners aren’t holding up in true man situations.
When the Chiefs do play man:
58.6% completion allowed (11th-highest)
Only 6.0 YPA allowed (10th-fewest)
They’re blitzing at the 5th-highest rate in the NFL (33.8%), but this year the blitz simply isn’t working:
35.5% pressure on blitzes (5th-lowest)
69.3% completion allowed (2nd-highest)
8.3 YPA allowed (5th-most)
And with their unblocked pressure rate dropping to 7.6% — their lowest of the Spags era — Kansas City has been forced into a high-blitz / low-man approach that isn’t generating pressure or disguising well.
That combination is exactly what Stroud has shredded this year:high blitz volume, low pressure, and space created underneath for quick-game answers.
The Bottom Line
The Texans didn’t just get better at handling the blitz — they rebuilt the entire philosophy from the ground up. Stroud is making the protection calls. The receivers now finish the same thought process he starts. The offensive line is no longer guessing. And the scheme emphasizes quick, clean answers.
Now, they face a Chiefs defense that blitzes heavily but no longer gets home.
It’s the exact type of matchup where the Texans’ growth should show up.And if Houston handles Kansas City’s pressure the same way Dallas did, it could unlock one of the biggest statement wins of the season — and another reminder that this offense has turned a former weakness into a weapon.
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