Texans & Colts Fall….Titans Victorious

The Jaguars fall further behind in the AFC South as a result of their bye week.  The Titans came up big against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night, the Colts lost to a resurgent New York Jets squad, and the mighty Texans finally fell to a struggling Packers team.

The Titans game is perhaps the most impressive.  In the competition for last place in the AFC South the Titans were desperately clawing to find a way above the Jaguars.  They finally succeeded by beating the Steelers.  It took a last second field goal from Rob Bironas, but the team hung in there to keep pace with one of the better teams in the AFC.  Chris Johnson had 91 yards and Matt Hasselbeck was an effective 25/44 for 290 yards, a pick, and a touchdown.  The real strength was the ability to spread the ball around in the passing game.  Four receivers had four or more receptions.  The Lions game looks less like a fluke with the team coming together in this win.

The Colts were outmatched, outgunned, and outright destroyed by the Jets this week.  The Colts showed, yet again, that they simply cannot stop the run.  Shonn Greene, a bruising runner, punished the Colts defense for 161 yards on 32 carries while taking it in for three scores.  The Jets didn’t have to worry about giving the ball to the Colts because they could control the clock the whole game.  The Colts were forced to pass on 72% of their downs while the Jets only had to pass 30% of their time on the field.  When you can limit Mark Sanchez to only 18 throws and still win by 26 points you’re having a good day.  Andrew Luck simply could not get his offense going despite throwing for 280 yards in the game.

This man should never be underestimated.  Source: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

The biggest shock to the AFC South this week is the Houston Texans loss.  As good as this team is nobody was really expecting them to run the table this season and a loss to the Green Bay Packers isn’t anything to be too mad about.  While the Packers have not been as effective as recent history this season they do still have a very talented team.  Behind six touchdowns and 338 yards from Aaron Rodgers, the Packers showed that they still have the skill to take down the better teams in the NFL.  More importantly, they showed that a good passer with good targets can pick apart the Texans defense.  J.J. Watt continues to have a stellar season with two sacks, but individual performance simply wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Pack.

Here are our AFC South Scores:

Tennessee Titans vs Pittsburgh Steelers: 26-23

Indianapolis Colts @ New York Jets: 9-35

Houston Texans vs Green Bay Packers: 24-42

– Luke N. Sims