{"id":1695,"date":"2024-12-29T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-29T17:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/?p=1695"},"modified":"2025-04-16T17:37:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T17:37:00","slug":"afc-south-champions-lose-more-than-a-game-to-the-chiefs-texans-c-j-stroud-shows-heart-following-tank-dells-season-ending-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/2024\/12\/29\/afc-south-champions-lose-more-than-a-game-to-the-chiefs-texans-c-j-stroud-shows-heart-following-tank-dells-season-ending-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC south champions lose more than a game to The Chiefs \u2013 Texans\u2019 C.J. Stroud shows heart following Tank Dell\u2019s season-ending injury"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Houston Texans lost more than a game Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. While the Kansas City Chiefs edged out a 27-19 victory, the Texans showed they belonged on the field. The bigger story, however, was the injuries that sidelined three starters: offensive lineman Shaq Mason<\/strong> (knee), safety Jimmie Ward<\/strong> (foot), and wide receiver, Tank Dell,<\/strong> whose standout performance ended abruptly with a devastating injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dell\u2019s injury occurred during a highlight-worthy 30-yard touchdown catch. Sprinting across the back of the end zone, he secured the pass from C.J. Stroud<\/strong>, but collided with teammate Jared Wayne on his way to the ground. Dell, visibly in pain, was carted off the field and transported to a local hospital. He spent the night in Kansas City before returning to Houston, where tests revealed a dislocated knee and a torn ACL. Dell is out for the remainder of the 2024 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Texans\u2019 players, the scene was emotional. Stroud and others were visibly shaken as Dell lay on the field. Head coach DeMeco Ryans<\/strong> described the moment as a human reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou see your brother go down and get hurt in that way; it\u2019s hard to bounce back,\u201d Ryans said. \u201cYou see him, how distraught he was\u2014it\u2019s tough. We care about each other. Ryans added, \u201cIt\u2019s not just about football. In that moment, the most important thing was making sure Tank was okay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sentiment resonated in the Texans locker room after the game and into Monday as the team began preparing for their Christmas Day matchup against the Baltimore Ravens. While the \u201cnext man up\u201d mentality prevails, this team prides itself on its family-like culture. When one player hurts, they all feel it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stroud, however, faced criticism from some fans and pundits for his emotional response. Social media and talk radio lit up with comments calling him \u201csoft\u201d for showing raw emotion\u2014because, after all, football players are supposed to be tough, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about that display of emotion during Monday\u2019s press conference, Stroud didn\u2019t back down. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy for me to sit there and be emotional, but it\u2019s something we all go through in life,\u201d Stroud said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to be a fake tough guy, to act like something doesn\u2019t affect you, but deep down, we all know we\u2019re going through something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stroud believes his visible emotions are a positive. \u201cI was taught as a kid\u2014not by my parents, but by the world\u2014don\u2019t let anybody see you emotional. Don\u2019t let anybody see you down. And there\u2019s some truth to that in certain aspects.\u201d Stroud said. He added, \u201cBut there\u2019s also life. What God is doing in my life is softening my heart in so many ways. I wouldn\u2019t have reacted this way last year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the second consecutive season Dell has suffered a season-ending injury. In 2023, he fractured his fibula after getting caught in a pile near the goal line. Again this season, Dell has been a key player for the Texans – ranking second on the team with 51 receptions for 667 yards and three touchdowns – behind Nico Collins\u2019 909 yards and six scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stroud and Dell share a deep bond. They are more than teammates, they are close friends who hold Bible study together twice a week. Stroud said, \u201cWatching Dell endure another injury was heartbreaking, especially knowing how much he had fought to return to the field at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t the end of the road for him\u2014it\u2019s just another bump,\u201d Stroud said. \u201cThere\u2019s hope and always light at the end of the tunnel. Right now, he needs space to process everything, and we\u2019ll be here for him when he\u2019s ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AFC South champions looked to regroup as they hosted the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas Day at NRG Stadium. As a special holiday treat, during halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, the Netflix Christmas Day Halftime Show<\/em> at NRG in Houston, TX, featured Beyonc\u00e9<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Houston Texans lost more than a game Saturday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. While the Kansas City Chiefs edged out a 27-19 victory, the Texans showed they belonged on the field. The bigger story, however, was the injuries that sidelined three starters: offensive lineman Shaq Mason (knee), safety Jimmie Ward (foot), and wide receiver, Tank Dell, whose standout performance ended abruptly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[909,523,910,911],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-c-j-stroud","tag-nfl","tag-tank-dell","tag-texans","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1696,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions\/1696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}