Texans QB C.J. Stroud Sends Strong Message About Broncos Before Matchup
The Denver Broncos are not sneaking up on any opponents. So, it is not surprising to hear C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans, Denver’s Week 9 opponent, speaking candidly about the challenges that the Broncos present for opposing offenses like his.
Stroud and the Texans have won three of their last four outings, and they were a playoff team last season.
The Broncos present a formidable test, but they will need their vaunted pass rush to show up.
C.J. Stroud Praises Broncos Pass Rush Before Texans Game
Stroud met with the media on Wednesday after the Texans’ first practice of Week 9 as they prepare for the Broncos.
The Broncos lead the NFL in sacks this season, and Stroud had been sacked multiple times in every game this season before last week. Similarly, the Broncos have recorded multiple sacks in every game but Week 2.
Stroud is aware that outside linebackers Nik Bonitto and Johnathon Cooper can wreck games.
“They have a really good rush. Starts on their edge with Bonitto and Coop. They do a good job playing relentless, and just – they don’t give up. They play really tough, and the interior, they have really good interior guys as well. So, they’re really good line,” Stroud told reporters on October 29.
“Playing hard right back [is how the Texans slow the pass rush]. Scheme, trying to do some things to help our guys up front. So, yeah. I think it’ll be a good matchup.”
Stroud has completed 66.8% of his passes for 1,623 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions this season. It will be up to those interior linemen – namely starters John Franklin-Myers and Zach Allen and top backup Malcolm Roach – to flush Stroud toward Bonitto and Cooper.
Texans HC DeMeco Ryans Praises Broncos
Stroud was not alone in his high praise for the Broncos. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans echoed his quarterback’s sentiments about Bonitto and Cooper, as well as the Broncos’ interior defensive linemen.
Ryans also put the onus on the Texans’ offensive line to keep the Broncos at bay.
“The Broncos rush group is a really good group. All five guys they have are really good on the edges. I say Bonitto is a really good speed rusher,” Ryans told reporters on Wednesday. “There’s not many guys like that in the league who have the explosiveness and the first-step quickness that he has, which has allowed him to get a few sacks.
“It’s going to take a ton of effort, ton of work to get it done. But we just have to play our technique. Don’t overthink it. Just play our technique. Really strain to get them blocked up front, knowing that they’re a really solid group, and really solid in the inside as well. They’ll play a five down front. It’s just everybody across the board is going to have to win their one-on-one matchup.”
Despite being the road team, the Broncos are 1.5-point favorites against the Texans as of October 30, per Vegas Insider.
That is notable since the Broncos will be without All-Pro cornerback Pat Surtain II for this contest and several more. The Broncos will get linebacker Dre Greenlaw back from a one-game suspension, though, which should help muddy the waters for Stroud on medium passes.
Browns Myles Garrett Being Recruited to AFC Contender by Ex-Champ
(Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS - OCTOBER 26: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns reacts after a sack against the New England Patriots during the first quarter in the game at Gillette Stadium on October 26, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images)
On Sunday, despite the incompetence around him, Browns star Myles Garrett put forth a monster day in which he recorded a career-high five sacks, only the 20th time in NFL history a player has brought down a quarterback that many times in a game. The Browns lost, 32-13, but in the wake of that showing, former Patriots star linebacker Rob Ninkovich had a message for Garrett.
And he delivered it personally. Yes, Ninkovich–who played for eight seasons in New England and won two Super Bowls–messaged Garrett on the sly to get him to push for a trade to the current AFC East leaders.
“How about we go and get a guy who just had five sacks against us?” Ninkovich said on the Boston radio station WEEI. “I slid into his DMs. I said to him, ‘Get to New England, brother, and help this place get back to the championship.’”
Browns Just Gave Out Mega-Contract
Of course, the Browns have been clear about their stance on trading away Garrett, and despite some fever dreams in a variety of places where a star sack-master could be of use, that’s not changing. Garrett just signed a record-setting four-year, $160 million contract in the offseason, a deal that made him the centerpiece of one of the league’s best defenses going forward.
Sure, the Browns could get a massive draft haul for Garrett, with at least two first-round picks, plus, perhaps, a player and a second-day pick coming back to a Cleveland team that needs to rebuild.
Browns Have ‘Zero Chance’ of Trading Away Myles Garrett
But if there is a time when trading Garrett makes sense, it’s not now, when the Browns would be taking on $20 million in dead cap this year, per Sportrac, and $40 million next year.
Cleveland.com beat writer Mary Kay Cabot all but put the nails in the coffin of any potential Garrett trade when she wrote on Wednesday, “There’s ‘zero chance’ of that happening, a league source tells cleveland.com. In fact, it hasn’t been discussed.”
Myles Garrett Admits Frustration
Still, Garrett’s frustration with his team is obvious, and was crystallized on Sunday when he slammed his helmet on the sideline late in the game, then finished the game apart from his teammates, on one knee.
After the game, Garrett was not happy with not being on the field late in the game.
“Frustrated,” he said. “I want to win. No matter how much time is on the clock, they got their starters in, there’s a chance we can win, I want to be a part of that. I don’t care how dire the situation looks. I want to try to make something happen, so I hate coming out in a situation, I hate that kind of inevitability. And not being able to do anything about it.”
