For the second straight week, the AFC South only has two matchups. Last week, the Texans were gifted a win by Vance Joseph and Brandon McManus as the Broncos’ last second field goal attempt went wide right. The Titans finally showed up on Monday Night Football against the Cowboys and kept themselves firmly in the division race. A win this week would leave them just one game back of Houston heading down the stretch. The Jaguars and Colts were on bye last week, but face-off this week in what is looking like an elimination game for the division.
Current Standings
Houston Texans 6-3, 2-1 in division
Tennessee Titans 4-4, 2-0 in division
Indianapolis Colts 3-5, 0-1 in division
Jacksonville Jaguars 3-5, 0-2 in division
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
There are countless storylines heading into this game. Mike Vrabel coaching against his former head coach Bill Belichick, a rematch of the AFC divisional matchup from last year, and many former Patriots players facing their former team. The Patriots have won six straight games and look well on their way to another first round bye in the playoffs. The Titans are coming off a two touchdown victory on the road after their bye.
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The Titans will be motivated to prove themselves at home against the powerhouse of the AFC. The Patriots may be the better team, but the Titans have been very good at home outside of their loss to the Ravens earlier this year. Marcus Mariota and the offense looked like they were finally figuring it out Monday and they will get a big win Sunday and put the AFC on notice.
Prediction: Titans 24 Patriots 23
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
Two teams sitting at 3-5 needing a big win to stay in the playoff picture. The Colts have back-to-back wins and have exceeded expectations this year. The Jaguars have lost five of six and are seen as major disappointments. The bright spot for Jacksonville is that they will finally get star running back Leonard Fournette back. This should help Blake Bortles and the passing game, which has been bad over the last month.
The Colts are at home and Andrew Luck looks like his old self and has Indianapolis playing well. Jacksonville hasn’t show anything to inspire confidence lately and I believe their season will effectively end at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.
Prediction: Colts 27 Jaguars 16
