Some big stories emerged from NFL Moment 7. Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson tore his Achilles tendon and will be sidelined for the remainder of the 2024 season, Saquon Barkley single-handedly outlasted his former team, Russell Wilson defeated the Untouched York Jets, and Marcus . Mariota led the Carolina Panthers. Who noticed all that was coming?
In this life, I want to talk about a couple of important topics: Does CJ Stroud have an illness while playing on the road? The almost ridiculous NFL MVP market and what it really must look like, and how the Panthers are even worse than you imagine. What is going to happen to them then? Let’s jump.
1. Does CJ Stroud get road sick?
A friend texted me later asking why the Houston Texans were three-point underdogs to the Green Bay Packers. This was expected to be one of the easiest games in life. 3 numbers is an amount for 2 handsome and frivolously matched groups.
I responded eloquently and announced, “Stroud’s got something strange on the road.” To tell the truth, it is something that has fascinated me from time to time. On Sunday, Stroud completed 10 of 21 passes for 86 yards in a two-point loss. Their 86 passing yards marked a career low, and only 34 came when targeting receivers. So does Stroud get road sick? The numbers may possibly work a miracle for you:
The strong occupation is divided
| Home | 9-2 | 311.1 | 21 | 5 | 106.3 |
| Far | 5-6 | 213.5 | 12 | 4 | 90.5 |
Stroud averages 97.6 more passing yards per game at home than on the road. According to CBS Sports Research, that’s the largest gap across any quarterback since the merger (minimum 10 starts at home and on the road). Stroud has passed 300 yards on the road just once and has four outings on the road where he didn’t make a single landing. You have done a minimum of one landing in each house to start.
Houston is 5-2 this year with both losses coming on the road. The Texans were defeated by the Minnesota Vikings in Time 3, 34-7, and naturally lost to the Packers on Sunday, 24-22. Overall, the Texans hold a 2-2 lead over Houston this season, beating the Indianapolis Colts, 29-27, in the season opener, and defeating the lowly Untouched England Patriots by 20 points in Moment 6 But do you think about the last year? Bryce Young, of all quarterbacks, outplayed Stroud in the 8th hour, and then there was that awful 30-6 loss to the Jets in the 14th hour, where Stroud was injured.
So, is Stroud sick while playing on the road? I think it’s too early to mention it, but the numbers don’t lie. That same week, it is easy to protect it. In fact, Stroud was playing his first NFL season in 2023, and then was without Nico Collins on Sunday, when the Packers attacked him on almost every dropback. Still, this is something to pay attention to.
2. Our non-QB MVPs
Isn’t it kind of stressful that the NFL MVP is a quarterback award? Sure, quarterback is the most notable and toughest spot in football, but the way we view “most valuable player” feels a little warped. For example, entering Monday night, Patrick Mahomes was the betting favorite to win the MVP. The same Patrick Mahomes who just posted his worst passer rating in a start (44.4) and has thrown six touchdowns compared to a league-leading eight interceptions. Is that currently a favorite for MVP?
Let’s form a “best quarterback” award that could be far from the MVP. Mahomes, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson can fight for it. If I had gone with some non-QB candidates for NFL MVP as we entered Moment 8, here are three players I would make a case for:
Henry Derrick
What “King Henry” is doing for the Baltimore Ravens at 30 years old is historic. Through seven weeks, he leads the league in rushing attempts (134), rushing yards (873) and is led by having the most rushing touchdowns (8). Henry is the first player to lead or co-lead those sections for seven weeks. Henry is averaging a league-leading 124.7 rush yards per game and is within a month of breaking the NFL record for most rush yards in a season. He has lost 2,000 yards due to speeding in 16 games before. Don’t hesitate. Henry has also shown that he can still make tough runs. In fact, he owns the two longest runs this season with runs of 87 and 81 yards.
Saquon Barkley
Believe what the Philadelphia Eagles offense would be like without Barkley. Philadelphia’s passing offense ranks in the bottom section of the league, while its fast-paced offense ranks second in the NFL, just behind the Ravens. Barkley is impeccable after a successful revenge game against the Untouched York Giants, rushing for 176 yards and landing an average of 10.4 yards per target. Barkley’s 658 rushing yards this season are the most by an Eagle in the first six games of a season, and Adrian Peterson is the only player in the last 50 years to rush for 600 yards while averaging 6 yards per career. a player’s first six games with a team. Barkley has crossed 100 yards at full speed in three of six games played. The Eagles won all three games.
Dexter Lorenzo
Like a heavy guy for the MVP favorite? Aidan Hutchinson would almost certainly dominate my MVP list if he didn’t suffer a major shock to his legs in later life. It is now Lawrence who is the NFL’s sack leader, as the 27-year-old has racked up a whopping nine sacks in seven games played.
The two-5 Giants aren’t losing games because of their defense, and Lawrence has been playing big this year. He’s wreaking havoc on offensive lines and disrupting quarterbacks’ rhythm. We pay a lot of attention to the offenses/defensive ends, but ask Tom Brady, the only place you don’t want to feel power is at center. Lawrence also has 13 QB hits, which ranks fourth in the NFL and the most among interior defensive linemen.
3. The Panthers are terrible. What happens then?
Now, to bring your attention to something that I think is not being talked about enough. The Panthers were the league’s laugh book for two weeks, but after Bryce Young was benched and replaced by Andy Dalton. The veteran led Carolina to a 36-22 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, but things have gotten worse since then.
NFL lovers know the Panthers are “bad,” but I don’t think they realize how sinful they are. Carolina has now lost four straight games by double digits, and not all of them are 10-point losses. The Panthers were easily defeated by the Jayden Daniels-less Washington Commanders on Sunday, 40-7. Take a look at those historic numbers:
- The Panthers have allowed at least 34 problems in four straight games. That’s the longest streak in franchise history.
- The Panthers have allowed 20 first-half points in six of seven games this year.
- The Panthers are the first team in NFL history to surpass 20 points at halftime on four outs in their first seven games of the season.
- Carolina has been outscored by 133 points in its first seven games. This is the fifth worst level spread since 2000.
Through seven weeks, the Panthers rank fourth-worst in overall offense and fifth-worst in scoring offense. It’s a nightmare on the other side of the ball, as Carolina ranks third-worst in overall defense, dead last in run defense, and dead last in scoring defense as well.
Where do the Panthers go from here? Is Carolina on guard 1-15? Is it possible for Dave Canales to be a sole guardian? That could be a wild draw, the closest to Carolina firing Frank Reich 12 games into the season last year. But the Panthers announcing this meant the QB whisperer would get Younger right. He looked worse than ever in Canales’ scheme and had to be benched just two games later. Do you give Younger and Canales an alternative opportunity? Do they give Canales every other season Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders and abandon Younger?
What will happen before all of these offseason hypotheticals is that the Panthers will match strategies with players. Carolina already waived veteran defensive back Troy Hill, and could simply strategize with some fringe players like big receiver Diontae Johnson at the trade deadline. It’s complicated, because how can lovers expect things to recover from where Carolina currently is? We’re not even halfway through the season. Consider that.
I think it’s interesting to see what Carolina does this offseason. The 2023 season was an absolute failure and things have not improved with an impeccable tutor and an impeccable general supervisor. How will you safeguard your teams and your squad? What is your recreation plan in the future? Our friends and family in Charlotte don’t deserve this!
