Mathguy64 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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The answer is trade for Joe Burrow.

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Except Cincy is staring at Pittsburg with no QB or coach and Baltimore with no defense, coach or kicker. And Cleveland who is Cleveland. They have to be drooling thinking of winning a division.

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Burrow made several choice comments at the end of the year that sounded like he wanted out.

After they got shut out by Baltimore to be eleiminated from the playoffs, he said:

"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it…You know, I've been through a lot and if it's not fun then what am I doing it for. That's the mindset I'm trying to bring to the table." "I think I've been through more than most and it's certainly not easy on the brain or the body.

They won the conference in 2021, lost the conference title game in '22 and have gone 24-27 since then with 0 playoff appearances.

Trade for him, draft some big linemen, keep the defense intact and you are probably the betting favorite as long as he stays healthy.

Ryan34 said:

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Did we watch the same Higgins? He was one of the highest rated in separation. He was learning the offense but CJ looking his way instead of Hutchinson would've gone a long way.

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admittedly i'm basing this purely on what i saw, i haven't seen much statical analysis so it's possible im off base here, but i felt like i wasn't expecting the world from him but was hugely disappointed all the same. i try to focus on rookies when i watch just to get a feel for them, so again this is just my observation, but his inability to get open against the defenders he'd draw stood out to me pretty often. he wasn't the only one, i feel like the receivers not named nico struggling to be open played a lot more into the sacks and negative plays than a lot of people realize. i'm not calling him a bust, but don't think he came close to meeting expectations for his rookie year and he seems like much more of a project than expected. i was under the impression he was drafted to be an immediate contributor. i know he's got physical tools to be a player, he had 2 or 3 great catches i can think of, but i didn't see him using his size nearly enough save for those couple highlights. especially with nico collins on the team, he should be doing everything nico does 24/7, nico is the exactly the type of wr that's higgins' ceiling. he's not a burner at all, but he runs routes so well you wouldn't know it the way he gets behind defenses, and he uses his size and long arms masterfully both off the line and bringing in passes. but it seemed like we got little of that from higgins outside a few plays, and he's gotta know that's how he survives in the league.

just curious, when you say rated among the highest for separation, do you mean relative to the texans or the league?

No, I don't think they have the courage to do it. But I do think it is what needs to be done. I don't think he's bad, but I do think he is nothing better than average and is poor with respect to offense. I think the Texans can do much better at GM and need to if we want different results. Just my opinion.

CharleyKerfeld said:

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Mathguy64 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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The answer is trade for Joe Burrow.

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Except Cincy is staring at Pittsburg with no QB or coach and Baltimore with no defense, coach or kicker. And Cleveland who is Cleveland. They have to be drooling thinking of winning a division.

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Burrow made several choice comments at the end of the year that sounded like he wanted out.

After they got shut out by Baltimore to be eleiminated from the playoffs, he said:

"If I want to keep doing this, I have to have fun doing it…You know, I've been through a lot and if it's not fun then what am I doing it for. That's the mindset I'm trying to bring to the table." "I think I've been through more than most and it's certainly not easy on the brain or the body.

They won the conference in 2021, lost the conference title game in '22 and have gone 24-27 since then with 0 playoff appearances.

Trade for him, draft some big linemen, keep the defense intact and you are probably the betting favorite as long as he stays healthy.

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i can buy burrow welcoming a trade. i just don't think it's the bengals would consider it. he's still one or the most talented qbs in the league and he's still young. most teams aren't trading that away for anything. especially that franchise, imo they'd play hardball and make him play or retire, even if it means getting nothing in return. they don't care if their players are happy or any of that stuff, they're the bengals after all

Aust Ag said:

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And the Joe Mixon situation….man, the fact they got as far as they did without a decent RB is amazing.

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which reminds me, f joe mixon for pulling what he did. he would have been such a big help in a game like this

So. What's the chances we find out tomorrow that CJ was injured and that's what caused all the turnovers. Either a hand issue or a concussion that he was cleared to play with but it lingered.

He wasn't great this season and losing Nico basically for both playoff games didn't help but these two games were such a **** show I wonder if something else was there.

I'm so disappointed in CJ. This year set up perfectly for us to make a deep post season run. He did exactly what a QB cannot do. At this point I do not think he is the guy but I also don't think we are a serious enough franchise to make the hard decisions to take the next step. I think we are a perennial playoff team but we will never get more than 1 maybe 2 wins…

Higgins was very highly rated in separation among the league. He was more productive this year than Nico was in his first or second years. For whatever reason, Stroud didn't seem to trust him, but I think he has a bright future. He especially seemed to thrive when we used him on deep balls.

I'm not concerned with WR in the least. Despite how today went, the Texans' record with their SOS wasn't a fluke. It's a damn good team and still young. Unfortunately, Stroud completely fell apart in the playoffs.

Mathguy64 said:

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So. What's the chances we find out tomorrow that CJ was injured and that's what caused all the turnovers. Either a hand issue or a concussion that he was cleared to play with but it lingered.

He wasn't great this season and losing Nico basically for both playoff games didn't help but these two games were such a **** show I wonder if something else was there.

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I had this thought a little bit ago and would be interested to go back and look at CJ's performance after he came back from the concussion.

That CJ Stroud game was the 10th-lowest EPA per dropback for a starting quarterback in a playoff game since 2007 (418th out of 427). pic.twitter.com/RQSK1qYbw7

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) January 18, 2026

Not gonna lie, that's better than I thought it would be….

I feel like if that comes out it's even more damning that he didn't make the switch at half time.

Meanwhile, Caleb Williams just **** all over the Rams' secondary.

It's likely referring to the fact the both of them have head issues.

CharleyKerfeld said:

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IrishAg said:

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That CJ Stroud game was the 10th-lowest EPA per dropback for a starting quarterback in a playoff game since 2007 (418th out of 427). pic.twitter.com/RQSK1qYbw7

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) January 18, 2026

Not gonna lie, that's better than I thought it would be….

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it's a little horrifying that two of the other Top 10 are also Texans

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Extra layer of heartbreak when you see that the worst and 5th worst were courtesy of this defense.

The Beef01 said:

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CharleyKerfeld said:

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IrishAg said:

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That CJ Stroud game was the 10th-lowest EPA per dropback for a starting quarterback in a playoff game since 2007 (418th out of 427). pic.twitter.com/RQSK1qYbw7

— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) January 18, 2026

Not gonna lie, that's better than I thought it would be….

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it's a little horrifying that two of the other Top 10 are also Texans

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Extra layer of heartbreak when you see that the worst and 5th worst were courtesy of this defense.

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And an extra layer of cringe when you see there's 3 Texans QB's on that relatively short list.

htownag08 said:

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At the end of the day I'm just not sure I trust this GM to make the right move.

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I 100% don't,

Ooof, Caleb pulls a CJ

All INTs are not the same. Caleb's INTs were not just missed throws. I can live with those types of INTs. Sometimes the WR just doesn't see it

The offense needs help in many areas so my guess is they will ride with CJ for one more year.

AggieJ2002 said:

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All INTs are not the same. Caleb's INTs were not just missed throws. I can live with those types of INTs. Sometimes the WR just doesn't see it

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Social media is alive with the fact that DJ Moore just gave up on his route when Williams threw the ball to him. Wow