CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans had themselves a day against they thumped the winless Los Angeles Chargers, 44-22. The Texans quarterback connected with Tank Dell for a 63-yard bomb, one of his career-high-tying five touchdown passes.
Stroud gave a shoutout to his teammate, who got his first touchdown in 687 days amid a severe knee injury, during his post-game interview.
“I owed him one. I missed him down over here to the right. He's a heck of a football player. I'm just so proud of him. His resilience, the perseverance. The faith that he has in God. I'm just so proud of that guy and just to have that moment. … We'll try to do it again another week,” Stroud said.
Stroud and Dell arrived in Houston from the same draft class in 2023. Stroud was the No. 2 overall pick in that draft, while Dell went in the third round. Unfortunately, he suffered a serious knee injury near the tail-end of his second season. That forced him to miss the entire 2025 season. He also started this season on injured reserve, missing the first half of the campaign.
Dell, who just made his season debut against the New York Giants in Week 7, finished with 105 yards on four catches against the Chargers. In just two games back, Dell already has 148 yards on five catches, two of which have gone for 40-plus yards. That's a promising sign for the Texans, who are suddenly resurgent with three wins in their last four games.
Stroud is also getting back to his best after a slow start. He has 10 touchdown passes in his last three games. The addition of a deep threat in Dell will help open up the Texans offense for the remainder of the season.