State of the AFC South: Titans, Texans Take the Lead
By Evan Reller
Heading into the season, the AFC South has been universally considered as the worst division in the NFL. After Week One, it might have some competition with the NFC East but it is still questionable.
After a week, the Texans and Titans are tied for the lead in the division. The Colts will face all three divisional opponents by Week Six.
Houston Texans (1-0)
J.J. Watt is still a very bad man. He sacked RGIII, hit him five more times and picked up a couple tackles for losses to go along with a fumble recovery. The Texans were completely justified with that $100 million contract (and here I was hoping he’d leave Houston in couple years and head back to Wisconsin).
Ryan Fitzpatrick put in a solid game, but Washington’s defense isn’t all that great. Neither is the Washington offense, RGIII looks off and smacked around regularly last Sunday. This game might have said a lot more about the opponent than it does about the Texans.
Rookie Jadeveon Clowney was lost in the game to a knee injury and will miss 4-6 weeks after having minor surgery (which means he’ll like be out against the Colts on Oct. 9th).
The Texans will be at Oakland this week, which means they should improve to 2-0.
Tennessee Titans (1-0)
The Titans manhandled the Chiefs this week. It was very likely that Kansas City would take a step back this season, but losing this badly to a mediocre Titans team is awfully bad.
How did this happen? Well, with Dwayne Bowe out of the game all the Titans had to do was shut down Jamaal Charles, a feat they accomplished with ease. They also managed to pick off Alex Smith three times.
Jake Locker spread the ball well and Tennessee racked up 162 yards rushing. The Titans might be a better team this season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they finished the year around .500 once again.
The Titans will host Dallas this week, which might test the defense if Tony Romo actually remembers he’s an NFL quarterback.
Indianapolis Colts (0-1)
The Colts had plenty of chances to make this a game, but couldn’t execute. It wasn’t a surprise that they lost on the road against Peyton Manning but the news following the game didn’t make that loss any better. Losing Robert Mathis for the year puts a ton of pressure on the rest of the defense.
As long as they have Andrew Luck, the Colts will remain competitive. He is far and away the best QB in the division and it is lonely in the NFL when you don’t have a quality player under center.
The Colts host the Eagles high powered offense on Monday Night Football.
Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)
The Jags played a brilliant first half of football against the Eagles, forcing three turnovers and a 17-0 lead. In the second half they returned to being the Jags of the past few years.
The defense was picked apart in the second half and the offense couldn’t move the ball. They punted five straight times in the second half, and the first three of those were three-and-outs. The nest series? Turnover on downs.
The Jaguars are trending in the right direction but might be another year away from truly being competitive in the division. They also can’t keep acting like its a good idea to start Chad Henne over Blake Bortles. Bortles earned the starting job in the preseason, but the Jags are insistent on him sitting and learning for now.
The Jaguars will be at Washington this week.