NFL Week 11 Power Rankings: C.J. Stroud, Texans way ahead of schedule;

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They rank the Seahawks at #9, of the 32. Seems about right.

NFL Week 11 Power Rankings: C.J. Stroud, Texans way ahead of schedule;
top 2 teams set to battle in prime time
NFL Week 11 Power Rankings: C.J. Stroud, Texans way ahead of schedule;
top 2 teams set to battle in prime time
Pete Prisco says Houston, with its sensational rookie QB, is here to stay
Pete Prisco

By Pete Prisco
16 hrs ago
•
2 min read
texansstroudpr.png
Kim O'Reilly, CBS Sports
When the NFL season started, I thought the Houston Texans would be a
young, feisty, tough team with a first-year coach and a rookie
quarterback who would win a few games and play tight ones in many of the
ones it lost.

Looking back now, that was so misguided.

They are now far more than that, with head coach DeMeco Ryans a
candidate to win Coach of the Year and rookie passer C.J. Stroud
actually being mentioned in the MVP talks. After beating the Cincinnati
Bengals with a game-winning field goal in the final seconds Sunday, the
Texans are now 5-4 and one game out of first place in the AFC South. If
the playoffs started today, the Texans would be in the party.

Who saw that coming?

player headshot
team logo
C.J. Stroud
HOU • QB • #7
CMP%
61.6
YDS
2626
TD
15
INT
2
YD/ATT
8.26
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Stroud is a big reason why. The second overall pick in the draft last
April has far exceeded expectations for a rookie quarterback. In fact,
he's been special, rookie or not. He threw for 356 yards and one
touchdown against the Bengals, giving him 826 passing yards the past two
weeks. He's on pace to throw for nearly 5,000 yards.

The thing that stands out when watching Stroud is that he makes it look
so easy. He doesn't flinch. Even when he threw a bad late-game
interception to get the Bengals back into the game, he still led the
Texans on the game-winning drive in the final minutes. That's two weeks
in a row he's done that, which shows how poised he's been this season.

Playing without Nico Collins, he turned to Noah Brown for the big plays.
Brown had eight caches for 172 yards and had a big play to set up the
game-winning field goal. Earlier this season, Stroud beat the
Jacksonville Jaguars with four backup offensive linemen starting in
front of him.

The kid is unflappable. That, coupled with an outstanding offensive
system led by Bob Slowik and a defense that is getting better by the
week, is why the Texans are up to 11th in my Power Rankings. With a soft
schedule the next five games, they might be even higher. The only tough
game in that stretch would appear to be a home game against the Jaguars
on Nov. 26.

The Texans are the surprise team of the league so far, but the best
thing is the long-term viability as a true contender is real. The have
the right coach, but more than that, they have the right quarterback.

The future, though, might be now.


BIGGEST MOVERS
6 BROWNS 7 JAGUARS
RK
TEAMS

CHG
RCRD
1
team logo
EAGLES The bye had to come at a good time with Jalen Hurts a bit banged
up. Now comes a really tough stretch of games starting Monday against
the Chiefs. -- 8-1-0
2
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CHIEFS They come off their bye as the top team in the AFC. But they
still haven't clicked yet on offense, and now must try and get it going
against the Eagles on Monday night. 2 7-2-0
3
team logo
LIONS The offense was special against the Chargers, but the defense
didn't show up. At 7-2, they are in the thick of the chase for the top
seed in the NFC. 3 7-2-0
4
team logo
COWBOYS They took out their loss to the Eagles two weeks ago on the
Giants. The Cowboys looked dominant in that game. But it was the Giants.
3 6-3-0
5
team logo
49ERS They beat up the Jaguars in every facet of the game. That's the
49ers team we've come to expect. It was a heck of a way to break a
three-game losing streak. 4 6-3-0
6
team logo
DOLPHINS They come off the bye with a home game against the Raiders.
Let's see if they can get the offense going again now that they are back
home. It wasn't good the last time out against the Chiefs. 2 6-3-0
7
team logo
BROWNS That was a big-time comeback victory against the Ravens. Kevin
Stefanski has done a nice job keeping this team together. 6 6-3-0
8
team logo
RAVENS Their four-game winning streak ended in the loss to the Browns.
They led by 14 late and lost. Now comes another tough division game
against the Bengals. 6 7-3-0
9
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SEAHAWKS They didn't look great in edging the Commanders late on Sunday,
especially on defense. That unit has to be better. 2 6-3-0
10
team logo
JAGUARS They have major concerns now for their offense. Trevor Lawrence
hasn't been the same guy. Can he snap out of it? 7 6-3-0
11
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TEXANS Their schedule the next five weeks: Home against Arizona,
Jacksonville and Denver and then on the road at the Jets and Titans.
Here come the Texans. 6 5-4-0
12
team logo
BENGALS The defense was bad in losing to the Texans. They couldn't stop
the run or the pass. That's a bad look as they ready for the Ravens. 7
5-4-0
13
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VIKINGS Josh Dobbs did it again in leading the Vikings to victory over
the Saints. The defense has really come on in recent weeks for this 6-4
team. 1 6-4-0
14
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STEELERS At 6-3, they are one of the surprise teams of the season. But
they've lost the yardage battle in every game, which isn't a good sign.
2 6-3-0
15
team logo
BILLS They are a .500 team heading into the toughest second-half
schedule in the league. They just don't look like a playoff team. Could
heads roll after the season? 5 5-5-0
16
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COLTS At 5-5, they are in the division race. They don't win pretty, but
they are finding a way. 2 5-5-0
17
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SAINTS The good news is the division is wide open. The bad news is they
looked awful in losing to the Vikings and suffered a bunch of injuries.
3 5-5-0
18
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RAIDERS The coaching change has amped up this team. They are 5-5 as they
ready for a big game Sunday with Miami. 5 5-5-0
19
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CHARGERS The defense is bad right now, which shouldn't be the case with
the supposed stars on that side of the ball and a defensive-minded head
coach. They are in a hole now in the playoff chase. 4 4-5-0
20
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COMMANDERS That was a tough loss on the road to Seattle, but there was a
lot of good. Sam Howell is improving by the week. 1 4-6-0
21
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JETS They just don't score enough. That begs this question: Should they
have made a move for a veteran quarterback after Aaron Rodgers went
down? 1 4-5-0
22
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BRONCOS They are 4-5 and somehow in the playoff chase. That's unreal.
Sean Payton has turned this thing around. 4 4-5-0
23
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BUCCANEERS They looked good on defense against Tennessee after that
horrible showing against the Texans. They needed it. 2 4-5-0
24
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TITANS The move to Will Levis didn't pay off against Tampa Bay, but he
didn't get much help. They have a lot of issues right now. 3 3-6-0
25
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FALCONS That was a tough loss on the road to Arizona, but the division
is still wide open. At least they got Bijan Robinson involved. 3 4-6-0
26
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RAMS They come off their bye with a tough division game against Seattle.
Matt Stafford is expected to play, and they will need him. 2 3-6-0
27
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PACKERS They had their chances at Pittsburgh Sunday, but just couldn't
get it done late. This season is cratering. 1 3-6-0
28
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BEARS They are showing signs of progress, but it's time to get Justin
Fields back on the field to see if he can be the guy in the long run. 1
3-7-0
29
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CARDINALS Kyler Murray came back and did a lot of good things in his
first start back after tearing an ACL last year. They face a tough road
game this week against the Texans. 2 2-8-0
30
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PATRIOTS This thing is over. The question now is whether Bill Belichick
will be around for the rebuild -- or whether he should be. 3 2-8-0
31
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GIANTS Will they win another game? Should they? They could land one of
the top-2 quarterbacks if they don't. That would be smart. 1 2-8-0
32
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PANTHERS The offense seems to get worse by the week. The design isn't
good, the receivers don't win, the line is struggling and Bryce Young
looks bad. -- 1-8-0