State of the AFC South: Week 2

The AFC South has a good set of games coming up this Sunday.  Divisional matchups begin as the Titans face the Texans in Nashville.  Indianapolis is given a chance at a win on the road in Washington.  Finally, the Jaguars host the Patriots in a battle of expected AFC contenders.  The results of these games, especially the Houston vs. Tennessee game, are important early on in the season.

Current Standings

Jacksonville 1-0

Tennessee 0-1

Houston 0-1

Indianapolis 0-1

Indianapolis Colts at Washington Redskins

The Colts are coming off of a loss to Cincinnati in a game they very well could have won.  Tight end Jack Doyle fumbled away their last hopes at a win in the final minutes.  However, Andrew Luck seemed ready to go after his year and a half hiatus from football.  The shoulder injury didn’t seem to have an effect on him as he threw 53 passes including two touchdowns.

Indianapolis draws the Redskins in week 2 which is a very winnable game.  Washington blew out the Arizona Cardinals in week 1, but Sam Bradford isn’t Andrew Luck.  The Redskins are not that great of a football team.  They lack weapons around Alex Smith, who isn’t going to win games for you and their defense has lots of holes.  The Redskins definitely could get to 2-0 at home, but Luck is going to be a little too much.

Prediction: Colts 21 Redskins 13

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars

Both of these AFC contenders won in week 1.  However, New England looked pretty convincing in their win despite only winning by a touchdown.  Without a Myles Jack pick-six, the Jaguars would have lost to the Giants in Week 1.  Blake Bortles isn’t going to put up a lot of points for the Jaguars, especially with running back Leonard Fournette’s status up in the air.  The defense will need to carry them again.

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are going to be just a little too much for the star-studded Jaguars defense.  They did just enough to beat the Giants last week, but the Giants aren’t the Patriots.  Bortles proved last week he is still just a game manager at best, and that will shine through again against New England.

Prediction: Patriots 24 Jaguars 7

Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans

Both of these teams left something to be desired in week 1.  Deshaun Watson looked awful in Foxborough and the defense couldn’t contain the Patriots offense.  Despite the 27-20 finish, that game was not all that close.  However, they may get lucky this week.  The Titans could possibly be missing both of their bookend tackles on Sunday and star tight end Delanie Walker is out for the year.

The Titans are at home and I think both of these teams can possibly bounce back and win this week. However, the healthier team will get the win in Nashville this weekend.  JJ Watt, Jadaveon Clowney, and Whitney Mercilus will take advantage of the banged up Titans offensive line and get to 1-1.

Prediction: Texans 27 Titans 23

This puts the Titans alone at the bottom at 0-2 with the rest of the division sitting at 1-1.  The division will still be wide open after this week.  However, every team has something to prove in week 2.