NFL Week 10 takeaways: C.J. Stroud enters the MVP race; 49ers back in business

Finally Gone: He might not be back again because….

Cover 7 | Sunday A daily NFL destination that provides in-depth analysis of football’s biggest stories. Each Sunday, three of The Athletic’s NFL writers react to the biggest news, plays and performances from the day’s games.There was mayhem in the AFC North on Sunday as the Houston Texans upset the Cincinnati Bengals behind rookie phenom C.J. Stroud and the Cleveland Browns rallied to knock off the first-place Baltimore Ravens, with both favorites losing at home. The Pittsburgh Steelers held off the visiting Green Bay Packers despite getting outgained, but that’s nothing new for the Steelers.

Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers flexed some muscle against the Jacksonville Jaguars and a folk-hero story continued in Minnesota.

The Athletic NFL writers Mike Jones, Ted Nguyen and Dan Pompei share their thoughts on the top headlines from Sunday.

Stroud and the Texans earned a signature victory Sunday in Cincinnati. Are you ready to put Stroud in the MVP discussion?

Jones: Yep, he’s definitely an MVP candidate in my book. It’s hard to believe that the second overall pick of the draft would be a part of such discussions, but here we are. Once again, we saw Stroud put his team on his back and make one amazing play after another. And then, we saw him bounce back from adversity (the late-game interception, which was only his second of the year, and the Bengals’ game-tying drive) and march his team downfield and into position to win the game. Stroud is a major difference-maker for the Texans, who have now won five of their last seven to improve to 5-4. So he definitely deserves