Around the AFC South: Winning is in the Air
Credit: Justin Stewart/Titan Sized
It was a good week for almost every team in the AFC South, the Jacksonville Jaguars being the only team to not come out with a win after blowing a sizable lead.
Houston Texans have a solid hold of the AFC South now after stomping the Baltimore Ravens in fashion. The final score of that game was 43-13 and with that win the Texans move to 6-1. They appear to be very serious Super Bowl contenders this year and should easily win the AFC South.
Tennessee Titans kept their playoff hopes alive with another last second thriller in Buffalo where they beat the Bills 35-34 after a late interception by CB Jason McCourty gave the Titans the ball in Bills territory. It would lead to a touchdown pass to WR Nate Washington on 4th and 9. That sealed the game as the Bills went 4 and out in the final minute of the game. The Titans now stand at 3-4 and find themselves tied with the Indianapolis Colts. Unfortunately, it sounds like QB Jake Locker will be sitting again this week when they host the Colts.
Indianapolis Colts learned that QB Andrew Luck can also get it done on the ground as he ran it in for 2 TD’s against the Cleveland Browns. The Colts escaped with a win thanks to some slip ups by the Browns and a dropped TD pass by Browns’ WR Josh Gordon, leading to a final score of 17-13. They have an important game this week against the Tennessee Titans. Both teams are at three wins and the winner of this game will stand alone in 2nd place in the AFC South. It’s a fairly evenly matched game that should be a good watch.
Jacksonville Jaguars continue to struggle and look to be en-route to the number one pick of the draft this next year, though Cleveland could be battling them out for it. The Jaguars suffered injuries to QB Blaine Gabbert, who was actually performing quite well, and to RB Maurice Jones-Drew. While Gabbert’s injury is to his non-throwing shoulder and doesn’t sound too serious, Jones-Drew is consulting doctors about his foot and in worse-case scenario, could miss the rest of the season. Hopefully it’s not that bad. Gabbert needs him to take the pressure off the QB position. The Jaguars fell to 1-5 after their 23-26 loss to the Oakland Raiders and look like they won’t be challenging anyone this year.
This definitely looks to be a rebuilding year for most of the AFC South, save the Texans. The Colts and Titans could be battling it out for wildcard spot in the playoffs, but both teams have plenty of room to grow before they are considered serious contenders by anyone. The Jaguars, well, they’re just trying not to lose every last one of their fans.
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