6. CJ Stroud, Houston Texans
CJ Stroud leads the AFC in completions, attempts, and yards. The Houston Texans are 0-2 to begin the season. In Week 1, the Texans offense was able to hang with Buffalo's, but the defense just did not make enough stops.
And in Week 2, while the defense was a lot better, the offense put up a stinker. Stroud putting up these gaudy numbers thus far isn't necessarily a good thing, but I am not sure he's at all played bad football through two weeks.
His efforts in Week 1 were great, and I do believe most of the blame needs to be thrown right at the defense. The offensive line and run game have not looked better, as Stroud has been sacdked seven times in two games.
He's lost 56 sack yards in those sacks. In the coming weeks, Houston simply needs to figure this thing out. They did begin the 2025 season 0-3 before finshing the year 12-5, so there is a chance to turn this ship around.
Stroud was also flat-out excellent as a rookie back in 2023, and with him playing as well as he did back then, I don't see why that can't begin to happen in 2026.
5. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson does look like his old self thus far. He has a 73.4 QBR and a passer rating of 104.7 through two weeks. The Baltimore Ravens did blow a lead to the New Orleans Saints in Week 2, but as long as Jackson is healthy and out there, the Ravens will be in a great spot.
Baltimore's season definitely went off the rails in the beginning part of the 2025 season, as they just could not get healthy and on the field. With how electric Jackson can be, health is really the one thing that could hold them back.
Jackson was, as recently as 2024, an MVP candidate, and he probably should have won the MVP award that year depending on who you ask.
The Ravens are in their first year with Jesse Minter as the head coach, but we have seen the same old dominant QB. He's No. 5 in our power rankings as Week 3 ramps up, but as he have seen for a majority of his career, he has the ability to be the very best player in the NFL in any given week.
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