The Colts lost their week 1 matchup against the Bengals. But just because they lost doesn’t mean they lost ground in the AFC South.
Looking around the AFC South, it really is a division up for grabs. All four teams in the division have legitimate aspirations to take home the division crown. But the Colts lost in week 1. So how did the other teams in the South do to start the season?
Tennessee did not look good in their first game of the season. Marcus Mariota got hurt and had to be replaced with Blaine Gabbert. They lost to Miami 27-20. So one of the wild card teams from last season starts 0-1.
Houston had a tough matchup going in. Playing in New England on opening weekend is a tough ask of any team in the NFL. Deshaun Watson looked lost early on and the Patriots won by a score of 27-20. Houston is a lot of people’s darlings in the South. But they too start 0-1.
The only team to win in the division was the reigning champs, the Jaguars. They once again had a good defensive showing and beat the Giants in New York 20-15. The Jaguars are still the class of the division and are going to be a hard team to overcome.
With only one team in the division winning, the Colts aren’t in too bad of a position coming out of a week 1 loss. They weren’t expected to finish ahead of Jacksonville anyway. So even though losing is never good, it could have been worse right out of the gate.
It doesn’t get easier for the Jaguars, as they play New England next week. Tennessee and Houston play each other, so one of those teams will get their first win. So the Colts do have a chance to get back to a tie for the division lead next week while they face Washington.