Texans' Dare Ogunbowale Floored By C.J. Stroud's Start, 'It's Special, Man'

The start of C.J. Stroud's NFL career has been so impressive ... even his Houston teammate, Dare Ogunbowale, says he's having a hard time believing it.

"I'm not even going to lie," the Texans running back told TMZ Sports this week. "A little bit of it definitely surprises me just 'cause I know what it takes to be an NFL player, but I really know what it takes to be a quarterback in this league. It is not easy.

"And he's making it look easy."

Through eight games of his rookie season so far, Stroud's thrown for 2,270 yards, 14 touchdowns and just one interception. In his last game, a thrilling win over Tampa Bay, he set a rookie record with 470 passing yards.

Ogunbowale tells us it's all been incredible to watch ... explaining, "It's special, man."

"Obviously you see the talent," he added, "but the poise he has, the command he has in the huddle, the confidence he has in him and this offense, it's fun to see."

Stroud will be facing a tough test this weekend -- as he'll lead the 4-4 Texans into Cincinnati to play the red-hot Bengals.

Dare says it's obviously going to be hard a matchup ... though, sadly, he told us his duties for the game will not include kicking -- as they did against the Buccaneers last weekend.