Last year, it seemed to be no contest between Houston Texans rookie C.J. Stroud and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young. Stroud won the 2023 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and led his team to the second round of the AFC Playoffs.
Young, on the other hand, went 2-14 as the starter for the Carolina Panthers. His stats weren't close to impressive, as the Alabama product completed just 59.8 percent of his attempts for 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
His issues carried over to 2024 with Young being benched at one point in favor of Andy Dalton. Since returning to the lineup following an injury to Dalton, Young has been a different player. He's suddenly ascending at the same time that Stroud is fighting through a sophomore slump.
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Over the past six games, Young has outperformed Stroud — as broken down by Opta Analyst. While Stroud has more yards (1,454 to 1,273), Young has a higher completion percentage (64.4 to 62.2), more touchdowns (7 to 5), and fewer picks (4 for Young, 5 for Stroud).
This is a small sample size but it's highly encouraging for Carolina. For Houston, it just highlights how much their offense is struggling.
Not all of this is on Stroud. He's been facing more pressure than most quarterbacks this season and the loss of Stefon Diggs has been detrimental to the offense.
Thankfully, Stroud still has a strong lead in the overall win category. He's also set for a second playoff run and if he performs well, no one will remember this stretch.