How Bengals, Texans have failed their franchise quarterbacks

That is a gigantic organizational failure on the part of the Bengals, and it's a big reason why Burrow has not only been one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the NFL, but also why he's missed now significant parts of three seasons due to injury. 

All of that together has resulted in the Bengals making the playoffs just twice during his career despite him being one of the best quarterbacks in the league. 

A bad offensive line can ruin a franchise quarterback, both in terms of their confidence and their physical well-being. You don't want to see Burrow follow a career-path similar to Andrew Luck where the beating just becomes too much. They have to do better. Not only to give their team the best chance to win, but also to protect their biggest and most important superstar. 

Lack of protection playing a major role in Stroud's lack of progress

Stroud burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2023 and immediately looked like one of the next great superstars in the NFL. He helped turn around the Texans almost overnight and was a huge success. But since the start of the 2024 season his progress — and the Texans offense — has hit a plateau. Stroud has not been as dynamic, the offense has struggled to score more than 20 points in a lot of games and no number of talented pass-catchers is changing that

The problem is all in the line. 

Houston had one of the NFL's worst offensive lines in 2024 and did nothing to meaningfully fix it this offseason. Through two games, Stroud has been running for his life on practically every drop-back, and has been under constant pressure. It's nearly impossible for him, or the offense, to do anything as long as that is the case. 

The Texans' lack of protection has not resulted in a major injury for their young quarterback, but it has definitely hurt his production. 

These two teams hit home runs at the top of the draft with their quarterbacks and should be in a position to be Super Bowl contenders. But their inability to protect them has kept them from doing so.