The Houston Texans lost more than a game in Week 9’s 18-15 defeat to the Denver Broncos.
Early in the second quarter, star quarterback C.J. Stroud exited the game after taking a vicious hit from Broncos cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine as he slid feet first on a QB scramble.
Stroud had clearly given himself up, but that didn’t stop Abrams-Draine from lowering his left shoulder and burying it right in Stroud’s chest, the impact of which drove Stroud’s head bouncing off the turf.
Abrams-Draine was initially flagged for unnecessary roughness, but it was overturned after officials deemed it a legal hit after watching video replay — a decision Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans took exception with after the game.
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“He slid and the guy came up and hit him,” Ryans told reporters. “As I see it, it’s unnecessary roughness when you hit the quarterback when he’s sliding and giving himself up. If I’m incorrect on the rule…I’ve seen that happen multiple times with our guys and we get the penalty.
“But for some reason, it just didn’t happen there. So, we’ll look at the film and see what actually happened there. At the end of the day, we lost our starting quarterback because of the play and any time you lose your starting quarterback it’s always tough.”
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Stroud has been ruled out for Sunday’s Week 10 matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars because of the concussion he suffered from the hit, but despite him being injured because of Abrams-Draine’s actions, the NFL chose not to fine him for the incident.
The league released its list of weekly fines on Saturday from Week 9, and Abrams-Draine was not on it.
Though no Broncos were disciplined from last weekend’s game, two Texans players were. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was fined $17,389 for unnecessary roughness (hit on a defenseless player) and wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson was fined $5,949 for unsportsmanlike conduct (taunting).
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