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Ben Solak, ESPN
Well, we are two-thirds of the way through the 2024 NFL season. It’s terrible news for my enjoyment but excellent news for my Sunday sleep schedule. The other good sleep-related news? An incoming dose of tryptophan. Everyone remember to take your turkeys out of the freezer so they have time to defrost!
Every Tuesday, I’ll spin the previous week of NFL football forward, looking at what the biggest storylines mean and what comes next. We’ll take a first look at the consequences of “Monday Night Football,” break down a major trend or two and highlight some key individual players and plays. There will be film. There will be stats (a whole section of them). And there will be fun.
This week, we look at what has gone wrong for C.J. Stroud this season, piece together the perfect NFL playoff situation and make Saquon Barkley’s case to win MVP. Let’s jump in.
Jump to a section:
The Big Thing: What’s wrong with Stroud?
Building the ideal playoff picture
Second Take: Barkley should win MVP
Mailbag: Answering questions from … you
Next Ben Stats: Wild Week 12 stats
“Monday Night Football” spin
The Big Thing: What’s wrong with C.J. Stroud this season?
Every week, this column will kick off with one wide look at a key game, player or trend from the previous slate of NFL action. What does it mean for the rest of the season?
The Texans were supposed to take over the NFL this season. That’s what last season told us. They finished on a 7-3 run to win the AFC South and get into the playoffs. Then they ran over the Browns in their home playoff game. Stroud became the youngest quarterback to ever win a postseason game, and in that victory, the then-rookie promised us that every year would get better and better and better. It felt like Stroud would make at least the AFC Championship Game in Year 2 then maybe the Super Bowl then win the next 10 championships consecutively.
Stroud was an NFL-ready rookie who could throw punches with the best in the AFC, the next in line to challenge Patrick Mahomes and start setting records. When the Texans started loading up on talent this past offseason — trading for Stefon Diggs, signing Joe Mixon and Danielle Hunter — the hype train got predictably and understandably out of control.
The 7-5 Texans are far from a disappointment, and Stroud is far from bad. But they’re 2-4 over their past six games after Sunday’s embarrassing 32-27 home loss to the Titans, and Stroud is 25th in QBR at 51.3. Stroud threw two picks and ended the Tennessee game by taking a sack/going out of bounds for a safety. It feels like the team that was supposed to make the leap has instead taken a few stumbling steps backward.