The NFL is as competitive now as it ever was, and there’s nothing that illustrates this better than the AFC South. After 6 weeks of play, jut 3 wins separate the division leading Titans (3-2) from the winless Colts (0-6).
There are many factors that you can point to that can explain such a tight divisional race. Peyton Manning being unavailable to the Colts is the easiest factor to point to. The Texans have been hurt heavily by injuries in recent weeks. Mario Williams and Andre Johnson, two of their best players, are out for extended periods. Williams is out for the rest of the season, but Johnson is looking to be back in a few weeks according to Rotoworld.
Then there’s the division leading Tennessee Titans. They dropped their first game of the season to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and at that point, I had written them off as a serious contender. But the football gods have been kind to the Titans. Injuries to the Colts and Texans and poor offensive play by the Jaguars has allowed the Titans to make an early claim for the division title, and you know what? I think they’ll hold onto it for the rest of the season.
The bottom dwelling Indianapolis Colts should have a couple of wins, even without Peyton Manning. They’ve blown big leads against the Buccaneers and the Chiefs, and they threw away any chance to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the closing minutes of the game. Everyone’s been talking about Andrew Luck going to Indianapolis, but I’m not so sure that they’ll be the worst team in the league at the end of the season.
The Jaguars, despite losing five straight games, are still in the divisional race. I’m not saying that they will be making a run at the Titans or Texans any time soon, but they’re 1-0 in the division, and if they could put together a string of wins, they could find themselves right back in the divisional race. Let’s remember, they’re only 2 wins behind the Titans. While that’s a far more difficult number to overcome than in other sports like baseball and basketball, it’s not an insurmountable number, and the Jaguars still have 10 games to play.
In all reality, however, the race for the AFC South crown is down to two teams. Both of them have been early season surprises. The Texans came out of the gate looking like the clear winner, but they have gone back to their old ways of “yeah but.” The Titans have been the lone pleasant surprise of the south. They’ve won games I thought they had no chance in such as their huge win over the Ravens. It’s still hard to say whether they can overcome the season ending injury to their star receiver, Kenny Britt. If they can get over that hump, they can likely cruise to a division title.
The AFC South is still up for grabs. Even the Colts are still in it, and everyone in the division has big issues to work on. The team that can overcome their past problems will be the team to move on to the playoffs. There will only be one team from the AFC South to make the playoffs, and the team to step up will be the one playing in mid-January while the others watch at home from their couches.
