NFL Power Rankings: Ranking all 32 starting quarterbacks ahead of Week 11

14. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans

CJ Stroud has dealt with a lot of nonsense this year, as he's lost some of his teammates to injury, and his offensive line is just not doing him any favors. Stroud no longer has Stefon Diggs, as the veteran WR tore his ACL. And stud wide receiver Nico Collins has missed the last five games due to a hamstring injury.

Stroud's numbers have taken a hit without Collins, and that could tell us that he just is not yet ready to carry a team. He's not been bad by any means, but the Texans have lost three of four games and are now 6-4 on the season. Their honestly pretty lucky that the AFC South is bad this year. Despite their skid, they are still in first in the division and are in a great position to win it for the second year in a row.

The Texans are likely going to win the AFC South and host a playoff game, and despite the mid-season struggles, Stroud and the Texans are still a fine team in a decent spot.

13. Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins was not brought back by the Minnesota Vikings, so he signed a four-year free agency deal with the Atlanta Falcons this past offseason, and he's helped the Falcons get out to a 6-4 start. The issue with Atlanta is their defense, as Kirk Cousins has been able to take care of the offense.

The Falcons are also a team in a pretty bad division, so nine wins may wrap up the NFC South this season. I do anticipate this team being able to win the division, so they'll be guaranteed a home playoff game. Their ceiling is quite low beyond that with Cousins under center, but this team did also take Michael Penix Jr in the 2024 NFL Draft, so they seem to have a good plan in place for the future.

It would not shock me if the Falcons ended up giving a start or two to Penix at some point this season to get him some reps in his rookie season.