Stroud makes most of early chance
Rookie quarterbacks are getting their chances early this season.
One is taking advantage of the opportunity in extremely impressive fashion.
After all three first-round quarterbacks started the opener, two more were forced into action because of injuries this week with Aidan O’connell getting the nod for the Raiders and Dorian Thompson-robinson for the Browns.
This marked just the third season since the 1970 merger when at least five rookie quarterbacks started in the same week this early in the season, with it also happening in 2012 and 2021.
While Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, O’connell and Thompson-robinson all ended up on the losing side, No. 2 overall pick C.J. Stroud extended the solid start to his career.
Stroud threw for 306 yards and two TDS to lead Houston to its second straight win, 30-6 over Pittsburgh. Stroud’s 1,212 yards are the second most ever for a player in his first four games – trailing only Cam Newton’s 1,386 in 2011 for Carolina – but it’s his ability to protect the ball that might be most impressive.
Stroud, a former Ohio State star, joined Brock Purdy and Joshua Dobbs as the only quarterbacks this season to start all four games and not throw an interception.
Stroud is now part of a far more elite group, joining Aaron Rodgers (2020), Patrick Mahomes (2018 and ‘19), Drew Brees (2018), Tom Brady (2015 and ’17) and Peyton Manning (2013) as the only players to throw for at least 1,200 yards with no interceptions in the first four games of the season.
It hasn’t been as easy for the four other rookie quarterbacks with Young
ranking in the bottom five in passer rating and yards per attempt and O’connell and Thompson-robinson looking overmatched in their first starts.
Richardson has been better with three touchdown passes and four TD runs in three games.
Lopsided wins
The Buffalo Bills have rebounded from a Week 1 loss in impressive fashion.
The Bills beat previously undefeated Miami 48-20on Sunday for their third straight win by at least 28 points. That is tied for the longest streak of wins by that many points in the Super Bowl era. The only team in NFL history with more was the 1942 Chicago Bears – a mark Buffalo will try to tie in London on Sunday against Jacksonville.
The Dallas Cowboys have also put together some blowout wins with their 38-3 victory at New England on Sunday
the most lopsided loss ever for Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Cowboys have won three games by at least 20 points so far this season with one slipup in a Week 3 loss at Arizona.
Before this season, only 15 teams since the merger had three wins by at least 20 points in the first four games. Thirteen of those teams made the playoffs.
Sack dance
It was a notable weekend for pass rushers led by Khalil Mack of the Chargers and the entire Seattle defense.
Mack had six sacks on Sunday against the Raiders, one shy of Derrick Thomas’ NFL single-game record. The only other players with six in a game since sacks became an official individual statistic in 1982 are Thomas, Adrian Clayborn, Fred Dean and Osi Umenyiora.