AFC South Week Fourteen Update: Colts Close to Clinching

The Colts won this weekend, but how did the rest of the division do?  Let's take a look at how each of the four teams in the division fared:

Houston Texans (7-6)

Place: 2nd

Last Week:  Won 27-13 over the Jacksonville Jaguars

This Week: at the Indianapolis Colts

The Texans notched a win over the division opponent Jaguars to prevent the Colts from clinching the division last week, as Houston outscored the Jaguars 17-0 in the second half to win 27-13.  The Texans threw the ball just 19 times for 135 yards, but Arian Foster rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Alfred Blue both added a rushing touchdown as well.  J.J. Watt just continued his absolutely amazing season, recording 4 tackles, 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss, a pass deflection, and 5 quarterback hits.  Houston now travels to Indy next weekend for a huge matchup with the division-leading Colts.

Tennessee Titans (2-11)

Place: 3rd

Last Week: Lost 7-36 to the New York Giants

This Week: Host the New York Jets

After another loss, there are some saying that the Titans are the worst team in the NFL.  And I can't really argue with that, either.  They're actually not in last place in the AFC South because of the head-to-head over Jacksonville, but they're bad.  On Sunday, they were down 30-0 before they scored a single point, and even then their lone score came on an interception return.  They racked up just 207 yards of offense at home, turned the ball over 3 times, and were just 2 of 13 on third downs.  Quarterback Zach Mettenberger was injured in the game and will miss the rest of the season, but neither he nor Jake Locker were getting it done on Sunday.  The Giants' defense recorded 8 sacks and 10 tackles for loss on the Titans' offense, and just adding to the misery was the fact that kicker Ryan Succop missed his only try of the day.  It was a miserable game for the Titans, who just might be the worst team in the NFL right now.

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-11)

Place: 4th

Last Week: Lost 13-27 to the Houston Texans

This Week: at the Baltimore Ravens

Though the Titans may be the worst team in the league, the Jaguars are actually still in last place in the AFC South after another loss this past weekend, this time to the Texans.  Blake Bortles completed 20 of 39 passes for 205 yards, a touchdown, and a pick, but the Jaguars' offense racked up 262 yards of offense and were just 5 of 15 on third downs and 0 for 2 on fourth downs.  They actually led Houston 13-10 at halftime, but an unanswered 17 point run in the second half by the Texans sealed the game.

Indianapolis Colts (9-4)

Place: 1st

Last Week: Won 25-24 over the Cleveland Browns

This Week: Host the Houston Texans

The league's number one ranked offense struggled for much of the game, but Andrew Luck found T.Y. Hilton for the game-winning score with 32 seconds remaining to give the Colts the dramatic 25-24 win in Cleveland.  The Colts actually gave up two defensive touchdowns to the Browns, and entering the day teams that scored two defensive touchdowns in a game were 48-1 since 2008.  The Colts made it 48-2 by overcoming that and looking much better in the second half.  Andrew Luck threw for 294 yards and two scores while adding another 37 yards and a touchdown rushing while T.Y. Hilton caught 10 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Colts' second half comeback from a double-digit deficit.  The Colts' defense played a very good game, allowing just 248 total yards, forcing two turnovers, and holding the Browns to 4 of 15 on third downs.  The Colts' defense actually gave up just 10 points in the game, and three of those were when the Browns were handed a short field off of a turnover.  Ultimately, the Colts struggled on Sunday but pulled out a win, improving to 9-4 and giving them a chance to clinch the division with a win this Sunday at home against the Texans.