4 major observations from Bryce Young's performance vs. the Texans in Week 8

Bryce Young's polished first half

If Bryce Young had any additional nerves going up against good friend C.J. Stroud after all the pre-game hype, he certainly didn't show it. The Heisman Trophy winner put together a highly impressive first half and had it not been for some critical drops and turning the football over on downs during a goal-to-go situation, it would have been even better.

Young's ability to go through progressions quickly and manipulate the pocket remains a strong point. He's also been given a little more freedom to be creative under offensive coordinator Thomas Brown's play-calling if this performance was any indication.

There were a couple of delicious completions from Young. His dart to Adam Thielen was eye-catching and the placement of his touchdown pass to Tommy Tremble in the second quarter was another sign of how special he is.

Want further proof? The first-half statistics surrounding Young spoke for themselves.

• 68.4 percent completion (13/19)
• 131 passing yards
• 1 touchdown
• 0 interceptions
• 2 sacks against
• 105.4 passer rating (ESPN)

It was a lot more fluid offensively despite only getting six points. Brown did a nice job of scheming players open, but the execution wasn't where it needed to be on occasion.

Which brings us to our next important observation…