4. Pittsburgh Steelers
Can this team actually be better without Mike Tomlin?
We all know the crazy stat about Mike Tomlin's tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach. This team literally never had a losing season with Tomlin at the helm.
While that is an incredible stat, the recent lack of success by the Steelers and apparent ceiling prompted the team to move on this offseason and hire Mike McCarthy, who has a Super Bowl to his name as well, and has had some tremendous success with both the Cowboys and Packers.
But do we really see this team being better without Tomlin? Will the Steelers take a step back before they take a step forward? After winning the AFC North last season, it seems like it'll be an uphill climb, to say the least. Although there's understandable frustration with the way Tomlin's teams seemed to be limited in recent years, you also have to be careful what you wish for in the NFL.
5. Houston Texans
Is CJ Stroud going to return to his 2023 form?
The Houston Texans might have the best all-around roster in the entire AFC right now. The question marks for this team are along the offensive line and, oddly enough, at the quarterback position.
After the way he played as a rookie in 2023, most expected CJ Stroud to quickly establish himself as a top-10 player at the quarterback position rather quickly and sort of just stay there. That hasn't happened.
Stroud has struggled to play at the same level we saw from him as a rookie on a consistent basis, but this season, there is a lot of money on the line. The expectation might have been for Stroud to play at an MVP level too soon. Development in the NFL is not always linear and certainly not always exponential.
How Stroud plays in 2026 could dictate his future with the team.
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