Aaron Rodgers’ next team? Can Chiefs keep this up? What’s wrong with C.J. Stroud?
As the holidays commence and NFL football becomes a near-daily affair, one question burns in the minds of fans everywhere: Where will Aaron Rodgers play next season?
OK, maybe not, but it’s an interesting question to contemplate as the Rodgers era disintegrates in New York. In this week’s roundtable, FOX Sports’ NFL experts tackle that topic and several others, including whether the Chiefs can keep squeaking by, if the Commanders have hit their ceiling and who’s the blame for C.J. Stroud‘s sophomore slump.
Let’s get started.
Eight of the Chiefs’ 10 wins have come by a single score. Can they keep squeaking by, or will it eventually catch up to them?
If there’s a team that can keep doing it, it’s the Chiefs. We have to remember that narrow victories also defined their 2023 season. They had six wins by seven or fewer points last year — and still won the Super Bowl. So it’s not the narrow wins I’d be concerned about if I’m Kansas City but who they’re coming against. The Chiefs should not be squeaking past the Panthers, for instance. It doesn’t matter how good Bryce Young has been as of late.
[RELATED: Bryce Young ‘making a statement’ to remain Panthers’ starting QB]
But most of the Chiefs’ one-score victories have actually been against good and talented teams. They beat the Raiders by only seven points in Week 8, but there’s a caveat there with it being a division game. Overall, I wouldn’t be too worried if I’m Kansas City. —Ben Arthur
They’ll keep squeaking by. I have a theory that the Chiefs have been holding out on us. At the beginning of the season, they were slow-playing Travis Kelce in hopes it might force some of their younger players into bigger roles. It also helped save the 35-year-old tight end for the postseason run. Kelce has come on lately out of necessity. We’ve barely seen Andy Reid get creative with his playbook — no trick plays, barely any fancy playcalling and design. So if my theory proves correct, the Chiefs are going to keep getting better as Reid unveils the offensive gimmicks he spent the past few months inventing. Because while most playcallers save their fancy plays for third down, Reid saves his for third down — in February. And the coach can get away with it because quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the best situational football player in the league. The Chiefs have squeaked by to 10-1. That’s who they are. That’s what they’ll keep doing. —Henry McKenna
Which 5-6 team do you think will make a late-season playoff push: the Dolphins, Bucs, 49ers or Rams?
I’ll go with both Florida teams here and say the Dolphins and Bucs. Miami is on the outside looking in despite three straight wins. First, we call the old Jets sweep — beat New York twice and Cleveland, and that’s eight wins right there. Also beat the 49ers and the Dolphins are 9-8, which might be good enough to catch the Broncos for the last AFC wild card.
The Bucs have the easiest remaining schedule in the NFL, so while they’re 5-6, they have a real path to either the NFC South title (catching Atlanta) or the wild card, where they’d need Washington to continue stumbling and the NFC West to just beat up on each other. Tampa Bay is healthy and played well against the Giants, and the Bucs get the Panthers twice in their last six games, along with the Raiders, Saints and Cowboys. The biggest test is going to L.A. to face the Chargers, but even a 5-1 finish should get the Bucs in at 10-7. —Greg Auman
Both teams struggled last weekend, but I’ll lean into past history and go with the 49ers and Rams here. Although 2024 has been a mess for San Francisco, at some point the 49ers are going to get healthy and start to play to the full potential of the team’s talented roster. The return of quarterback Brock Purdy (shoulder) and edge rusher Nick Bosa (hip/oblique) will be the key. And head coach Kyle Shanahan must figure out how to get more consistent production from Christian McCaffrey and the rest of the offense.
In a tightly contested NFC West with all four teams fighting for the top spot in the division, the Rams have the second-easiest schedule. They can rely on the experience of head coach Sean McVay, quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Cooper Kupp. The Rams won seven of their last eight games to reach the postseason last season, so they have been in this position before. — Eric D. Williams
None. I know that’s not technically an answer to the question. But I actually like the Colts (5-7) more than I like any of these teams. I think the Texans are flagging, and Indianapolis is just bizarre and weird enough to come out of nowhere with a QB who’s completing fewer than half of his passes. The Colts could steal the AFC South.
But if forced to choose between the options above, I’ll take the Rams. I trust Sean McVay and Matthew Stafford. They seem to be figuring things out, particularly as Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua get healthier. And it helps that L.A. will face the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18. The Rams might not be able to sneak in on record alone, so winning the division through that season-finale is a nice backdoor entry into the postseason. And it helps the Rams to have their division leader looking so shaky. —Henry McKenna
Has the clock struck midnight on the Commanders’ Cinderella season?
I’m not sure it’s midnight yet, but it’s probably about 11:45 and the clock is ticking.
The Commanders are a good team, Dan Quinn has done a phenomenal job in Year 1 of a rebuild, and Jayden Daniels is clearly going to be something special. But their record has always been a little bit better than they actually are. During their 7-2 start, they played one team that had a winning record — the Baltimore Ravens. The Commanders fought them hard, but lost 30-23.
So it’s probably not surprising that they lost to the Steelers and Eagles over the past few weeks, too. And now Daniels looks like he’s hit a rookie wall, with the notable exception of the wild fourth quarter against the Cowboys on Sunday. They’re not running or playing defense as well as they did.
They may still make the playoffs. The Eagles are the only really dangerous team left on their schedule. But it’s pretty clear the Commanders were playing way over their head and it’s starting to catch up to them. The future is really bright, but the present is starting to be more of a struggle than their fans may have thought. — Ralph Vacchiano
Washington has lost three straight and looks to have lost some mojo after the team’s Hail Mary victory over the Chicago Bears last month. However, the Commanders have an experienced coaching staff that has been through the ebbs and flows of a regular season, led by Quinn. Washington also faces just two teams with winning records in the last five games and gets a bye after hosting the Tennessee Titans this weekend. The Commanders should get things turned around in time to make the postseason. — Eric D. Williams
Will Aaron Rodgers be on an NFL roster next season? If yes, where?
Seeing what a headache the Jets have had this season, I feel bad doing this to another team for 2025. But I’ll say yes, and I’ll throw out a team you might not expect: Tennessee. Will Levis isn’t the answer, the Titans have $72 million in cap space for 2025 and an underappreciated defense under new coordinator Dennard Wilson. Rodgers doesn’t have personal connections there, but the Titans are picking sixth right now, so they’re not likely to get a top QB like Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders. As a one-year roll of the dice, this is like Brett Favre with the Vikings. Rodgers won’t want to end his career as he has with the Jets, and this is a chance to finish on the upswing. —Greg Auman
It is a bad idea to sign a broken-down, 41-year-old quarterback who is clearly a shell of his former self. But if Aaron Rodgers wants to play next year, someone is going to make the mistake and sign him. Some owner will see him as a draw, be seduced by his fading talent, and become convinced that his or her team can shock the world with a quarterback like him.
So which team is crazy enough to let Rodgers infect its franchise? The Las Vegas Raiders, of course. After all, they are the historical home for all of the NFL’s wayward souls. They’re also one of the few teams that needs a new starting quarterback (because Rodgers isn’t going to be anybody’s backup). And owner Mark Davis could see Rodgers as a draw and a bridge to whichever young quarterback the Raiders add in the draft. — Ralph Vacchiano
Is Texans QB C.J. Stroud’s sophomore slump on him or more the result of a porous offensive line and injured star receivers?
Stroud definitely hasn’t played to the level he did as a rookie, but if we’re assigning blame, most of it should go to what’s happening around him. Lack of execution and discipline, especially on the offensive line, have rolled back big pass plays all season, including touchdowns. Left tackle Laremy Tunsil is the most penalized player in the NFL. Pass protection has been poor — a surprise, as there hasn’t been as much shuffling on the offensive line as there was last year. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s playcalling has been an issue at times. Nico Collins, the league’s leader in receiving yards per game, missed five games due to injury. Stefon Diggs is on season-ending IR. Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed what would’ve been a game-tying field goal in Sunday’s stunning loss to the Titans. Houston’s defense has had its breakdowns, too.
It’s hard for even the best of quarterbacks to overcome a bad situation, even if they’re in a legitimate slump themselves. —Ben Arthur
Stroud is struggling to reach the high level he set as a rookie. Since Week 7, he has completed only 59.1% of his passes for 1,298 yards, with four touchdowns and five interceptions for a 74.7 passer rating. The Texans are 2-4 during that stretch. He’s also been sacked 39 times this season. Only Caleb Williams has been sacked more (44).
It’s up to offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik to put Stroud in more advantageous situations schematically. Stroud has had to play behind an underachieving offensive line, along with his top two receivers being out for a large chunk of the season. It’s on Stroud and the coaching staff to make the proper adjustments so the offense performs more efficiently. At 7-5 and leading the AFC South by two games, Stroud has time to fix things. — Eric D. Williams
The following writers contributed to this story:Ben Arthur (@benyarthur); Greg Auman (@gregauman); Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis); Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano); Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams).
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