Week 2 Results and Their Effect on the AFC South Playoff Race

JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars greets Marcus Mariota #8 of the Tennessee Titans on the field after the Titans defeated the Jaguars 37-16 at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - SEPTEMBER 17: Blake Bortles #5 of the Jacksonville Jaguars greets Marcus Mariota #8 of the Tennessee Titans on the field after the Titans defeated the Jaguars 37-16 at EverBank Field on September 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
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CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 14: J.J. Watt in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
CINCINNATI, OH – SEPTEMBER 14: J.J. Watt in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Houston Texans

Week 2 Result: Beat the Cincinnati Bengals 13-9

What it Means: This game is fairly representative of how a lot of Texans wins will play out. The Texans are built to win low-scoring affairs with their dominant defense. Deshaun Watson will continue to take his rookie lumps, but his supporting cast should be enough for him to lead the team to victory despite injuries to most of his receiving corps.

A victory against the Bengals isn’t too impressive since the team has yet to score an offensive touchdown and has a locker room that doesn’t seem to have any more patience with an ineffective head coach. Fortunately, the Texans defense was able to force a turnover from John Ross and kept the Bengals from scoring their first touchdown of the year. On offense, Watson had a fantastic touchdown run, but had mixed success throwing the ball.

What’s Next: The Texans play a team with even more injuries, the New England Patriots. Like Watson, Tom Brady is missing several of his pass catchers due to injuries, but unlike Brady, Watson is not the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. After a Week 1 loss that had many questioning Brady and the Patriots, TB12 went out and put up huge numbers against the New Orleans Saints and made a statement. Bill Belichick will likely make another statement against a rookie quarterback, much like Jacksonville did in Week 1.

Schedule