By Andrew Martinez
Staff Writer
With the conclusion of the Jets and Chargers on “Monday Night Football,” week nine of the NFL is officially in the books. This week, many heavyweight teams went up against each other, and here are some things we learned about the league going forward.
C.J. Stroud is the best rookie quarterback this year
During the 2023 draft, there was much speculation on whether the Carolina Panthers would go with former Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young or Ohio State prospect C.J. Stroud. Of course, they selected Young with their number one overall pick.
However, that decision could now potentially be brought into question. On Nov. 5, Stroud completed a comeback against the Buccaneers with only 46 seconds left of regulation, throwing the game-winning touchdown pass to Tank Dell.
Not only did he have 470 yards passing, five touchdown passes and a 71% completion percentage, but he also made history. The former Buckeye is now the record holder for most passing yards by a rookie QB in a game ever and is just the sixth person in NFL history to have five touchdown passes with no interceptions in a game.
Even after the draft, it looked like the Texans were going into yet another long season ahead of them. Despite all the concerns and issues, Houston now has a .500 record and is just second in the AFC South.
Compared to Young, who is having some growing pains, Anthony Richardson, who had a season-ending injury, and Will Levis with only 2 starts, Stroud is the clear number one rookie quarterback this year. The Texans still have a long way to go but one thing is for sure: Houston has their guy.
The Bengals are on a roll and might soon be one of the teams to beat in the AFC
Coming into this season, Joe Burrow was nursing a calf injury he suffered during training camp and did not practice for a month. Despite this, the Bengals were insistent on getting him ready for the season opener and for the first few weeks, Joe Burrow was not himself, with the team being 1-3 after week four. A main reason for this could be due to his re-aggravation of the calf injury in week two, prohibiting his movement and making him not as mobile.
While he is no running quarterback like Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen, his limited mobility affected his playmaking and it showed greatly. However, since their week five win in Arizona, Cincinnati has won four straight games with three of them being against high caliber teams such as the Seahawks, 49ers and the Bills.
In his last game against Buffalo on Sunday night, Burrow completed 70% of his passes and threw for 348 yards with a pair of touchdown passes. The Bengals are now 5-3, sitting at second in the division and with Joe Burrow being fully healthy and finally clicking with his receivers, it looks like they are back on track. And if they are, the entire AFC should be concerned, including number 15 in Kansas City.
The AFC North is the best division in Football
It is not a surprise that there are no pushovers in these teams this year. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have always been playoff contenders since he has been a starter; Joe Burrow and the Bengals have made back to back AFC championship appearances the last two years; Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record with the Steelers; and the Browns added more firepower on their offense by acquiring Deshaun Watson in a trade a few years ago.
But after winning their games this week, all four AFC North teams are shockingly now in the playoff picture. The Browns, Steelers and Bengals are sitting at an astounding record of 5-3 and the Ravens are on top at 7-2, but even with them being ahead of the pack, this division race is still far from over. If these AFC North teams continue to perform of this caliber, it is gonna be really difficult for teams like the Jets or Bills to sneak in.
