Who Should I Start? Geno Smith or C.J. Stroud

Wednesday, December 31, 3:41 PM

Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said that quarterback Geno Smith (ankle) will not play on Sunday against the division-rival Kansas City Chiefs in the Week 18 regular-season finale, according to Ryan McFadden of ESPN. "I hate closing the door on any opportunity, but it's going to be really hard for him," Carroll said. Smith suffered a serious ankle injury in the Week 17 loss to the New York Giants and won't suit up for a meaningless contest to close out the regular season. With the 35-year-old veteran wrapping up a brutal first year in the desert, backup Kenny Pickett is expected to start this weekend. Aidan O'Connell could also end up splitting time with Pickett against KC. Smith was one of the worst starting QBs in football in 2025, completing 67.4% of his 448 pass attempts for 3,205 yards, 19 touchdowns, and a league-leading 17 interceptions in 15 starts.

Tuesday, January 13, 11:38 AM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud wasn't at his best on Monday night, but the Texans were still able to pull it out and beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 30-6 in the Wild-Card playoff matchup. Stroud finished the game 21-for-32 passing for 250 yards with one touchdown and an interception. The 24-year-old signal-caller also lost two fumbles. He was sacked three times for a loss of six yards and ran the ball once for no gain. Stroud fumbled the ball a third time in the second half, but thankfully, he was able to recover it. The Steelers couldn't take advantage of Stroud's miscues, as they only scored three points on his three turnovers. Stroud just didn't look comfortable in the pocket on Monday and missed a couple of easy throws that could have gone for big yardage. He'll need to play much better if Houston is going to go into New England and beat the Patriots on Sunday in the Divisional Round.