AFC South power rankings Week 2: Tennessee Titans reign supreme

2. Houston Texans (0-1)

Week 1 ranking: No. 2 (No change)

The Texans could have found themselves in the No. 1 spot in this week’s AFC South power rankings if they had held onto a late lead against one of this year’s Super Bowl favorites, the New Orleans Saints.

But quarterback Drew Brees and Co. orchestrated a late drive that led to a heart-crushing Texans loss thanks to the foot of Saints kicker Will Lutz, who booted a game-winning, 57-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

While the Texans made a late push to even be in that position after leading for most of the game with an impressive offensive performance from its quarterback, receivers and running backs, the same old problems reared their ugly head for Houston upfront.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson got sacked six times and was the victim of 11 QB hits overall, and he appeared to be dealing with some kind of back injury as the game progressed.

The Texans’ offensive line was supposed to be improved after the acquisition of Laremy Tunsil, but Tunsil himself allowed Watson to get abused, and the rest of the line was putrid. Watson simply won’t survive an entire 16-game slate if he is subject to that kind of punishment on a weekly basis.

There’s no reprieve for Watson and the Texans in Week 2, though. The Jags have a formidable pass-rush that could do further damage to Watson if his O-line repeats its awful Week 1 performance.