AFC South manages to do something through four weeks that hasn't been done since 1970
The AFC South has reached an historic level of mediocrity
Of the NFL's 32 teams, 14 of them have .500 records at the quarter mark of the 2019 regular season. Four of those teams reside in the AFC South, as the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans are all 2-2 after four weeks.
The AFC South, according to NFL Research, is the first division since the AFL-NFL merger of 1970 to have each team at 2-2 through four games.
While the teams each have the same record, Houston sits atop the division by virtue of its 2-0 record against AFC opponents. Indianapolis, based on its 1-0 record within the division, is second. Jacksonville is just ahead of Tennessee, which is last in the AFC South based on its 0-2 record within the division.
The Texans, last year's division champion, have sandwiched victories over the Jaguars and Chargers with losses against the Saints and Panthers. Sunday's loss, a 16-10 decision at home, is easily the team's most disappointing outing of the season. While Houston's defense played winning football, Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson struggled mightily, throwing for just 160 yards while being sacked six times.
"I've got to check the ball down, take what they give us," Watson said after Sunday's loss, via ESPN's Sarah Barshop. "They play a lot of zone coverage and are making us earn it. Keep everything short. Like I said, the deep balls, when he had the opportunity, I've got to hit those."
Like Houston, Indianapolis faltered at home on Sunday, losing a 31-24 decision to the Oakland Raiders. While Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett continues to play well (he threw for 265 yards and three touchdowns with one interception), Oakland's 188-81 rushing advantage proved to be the difference.
"That's the most disappointing thing to me," Colts head coach Frank Reich said after the game, via the team's official website. "That's the most disappointing thing, because I've always felt like last year, and then going into this year, teams can't run the ball on us. We don't let teams run the ball. So we've gotta look at that and see what we can do better as coaches and players to have a better run defense."
Tennessee, one of the AFC's wild-card teams last season, pulled off a Week 4 upset by handing the Falcons a 24-10 defeat in their own backyard. The Titans, who were drubbed 20-7 by Jacksonville in Week 3 on "Thursday Night Football," never trailed against the Falcons while taking a 24-7 lead into the fourth quarter. The Titans sacked Matt Ryan five times while holding Atlanta to under 60 yards rushing, and the Titans enjoyed solid outings by quarterback Marcus Mariota (18-27, 227 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions) and running back Derrick Henry (100 yards on 27 carries).
"For the first time, I feel as a team we showed what we can really do when we hit on all cylinders," linebacker Rashaan Evans said of his team following Sunday's win, via ESPN's Turron Davenport.
Speaking of hitting on all cylinders, the Jaguars were a team many considered dead in the water after they lost their first two games and starting quarterback Nick Foles. But, behind new starting quarterback Gardner Minshew, Jacksonville has won their past two games including Sunday's 26-24 nailbiter in Denver. Minshew, despite getting sacked five times, fired two touchdown passes, while the Jaguars' defense, despite playing without cornerback Jalen Ramsey, held the Broncos to under 70 rushing yards.
The star of the game, however, was Leonard Fournette and a Jacksonville offensive line that helped pave the way for Fournette to rush for a whopping 225 yards.
"They were pushing us around, and he's a big back," Broncos head coach Vic Fangio said after the loss, via ESPN's Jeff Legwold. "He broke tackles and moved the pile and we got whipped. ... There were some good things defensively there, there was for a half; in the second half, you're going to have to look long and hard to find it. We just got whipped there; I can't ever remember being in a game like that where they might have had 300 yards rushing."
So, which AFC South team will be over .500 this time next week? Tennessee will host the 3-1 Bills next Sunday, while Jacksonville will head to Carolina -- another 2-2 team -- for a matchup between the NFL's two 1995 expansion teams. Houston will host the 1-3 Falcons, while Indianapolis heads to Kansas City to take on the undefeated Chiefs.
According to SportsLine odds, the Texans and Titans are both favored, while the Jaguars and Colts are underdogs.
















