NFL Today: Houston Had a Problem

This week, we learned that the Raiders plan to hire Seattle OC Klint Kubiak as their head coach after the Super Bowl; Justin Jefferson suggested the Vikings would have been better had Sam Darnold stayed on; and Arizona landed its new head coach in former Ram OC Mike LaFleur. Other Fantasy football stories we’re following include…

C.J. Stroud’s Tough Postseason

In early December, the Houston Texans were making a nice push to get back in the playoffs, and things only got better from there as they ran the table with nine straight wins to wrap up the season and clinch a third straight playoff appearance.

The offense was much better down the stretch and the D continued to prove to be among the NFL’s best units, if not the best.

Houston demolished Pittsburgh in the Wild Card game before shooting itself in the foot with five turnouts to lose to the eventual AFC Champion, New England.

It was a very rough day for quarterback C.J. Stroud, as he was picked four times – all in the first half – as he managed just 20 completions on 47 passes. Despite playing just two playoff games this season, he had the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first player ever to have five or more interceptions and five or more fumbles in one postseason.

Yikes.

Heading into 2025, we assumed Stroud would have a better season, and despite missing three games with a concussion, he was generally improved, setting a new career best in completion rate, slightly upping his YPP, throwing more TDs per game and cutting his INT rate, while enduring far fewer sacks. His poor playoff showing shouldn’t take away from that progress, but things do tend to get magnified on the big stage.

For what it’s worth, Stroud admitted he’s still getting adjusted to what was a new system this season and Houston Head Coach DeMeco Ryans obviously still has great belief in his guy, saying he never considered benching him after that ugly first half in the Divisional Round.

Stroud remains a top 15 QB option in dynasty formats and there’s clearly still upside potential here.

New England’s Unsung Hero

A couple of weeks ago, we marveled at how the New England Patriots shut down the Chargers in the Wild Card game. Since then, things got tighter, but New England managed to take out Houston in the Divisional Round and then survive awful conditions to beat Denver in the AFC title game, making it to the Super Bowl for the 12th time.

Matched up against Seattle, neither team is expected to threaten Tom Brady’s Super Bowl record of 505 yards passing (FanDuel currently lists the chances of anyone tossing 506 yards or more at +15000), but that doesn’t mean there won’t be any fireworks in this one.

Certainly in the snowy conditions of the AFC Championship game, the pass game was virtually impossible to get going, and while Stefon Diggs hauled in a game-high five catches on six targets, he only turned that into a measly 17 yards.

Veteran WR Mack Hollins led the way for the Patriots with 51 yards receiving on just two grabs, continuing to build on his fine second half (see video below). Despite being one of several additions to the Pats’ WR room this season, our expectations from this group weren’t super high.

However, after finishing dead last in passing yardage in 2024, New England soared all the way to fourth this season – a massive turnaround in which Hollins played a significant role. Despite missing two games, he had his highest reception and yardage numbers since his career year with the Raiders in 2022.

Hollins saw more targets this season, and while he still doesn’t get a ton of volume, he comes through when his number is called, and he’s really been an unsung hero in this offense’s improvement. Plus, he’s not afraid to share his opinion on scientific matters.

It’s important to note that he’s dealing with an abdomen injury and is currently listed as questionable for the Super Bowl (he had missed four games before the AFC Championship game with this same issue), so keep an eye on his practice status this week before opting to use him in the big game. For what it’s worth, Hollins was a full participant for Friday’s practice, so chances are that he’ll be fine.

For dynasty purposes, he’s a top 135 receiver, so unless your league is massive, he’s not a viable asset.

RotoRob Tune of the Day

American jazz trumpeter Lee Morgan was active from 1956 until his tragic and untimely death at age 33 in 1972. In 1967 he released the album Delightfulee, which included a cover of the Beatles’ classic “Yesterday.” The track was also featured on the compilation album Blue Beat: Blue Note Plays the Music of Lennon and McCartney.