Week 13 AFC South Recap: J.J. Watt for MVP?

The four AFC South teams all wrapped up their games on Sunday. Three of them came away with wins as the Tennessee Titans couldn’t keep up with the Houston Texans in the divisional rivalry game. The Indianapolis Colts took care of business against the hapless Washington Redskins. The Jacksonville Jaguars managed to come from 21 down to take out the New York Giants.

Here are your AFC South scores before we dive into each game:

Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Giants: 25-24

Indianapolis Colts vs Washington Redskins: 49-27

Houston Texans vs Tennessee Titans: 45-21

Perhaps the most surprising thing to come from the AFC South this week (aside from the Jaguars winning) is all the talk around J.J. Watt for NFL MVP this season. It’s all over most major media outlets as they try to drum up support for the defensive end despite some other great players who should likely be considered before him (like Aaron Rodgers). We’ll get to that in a bit, though.

Nov 30, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Chris Clemons (91) celebrates after receiving a fumble during the fourth quarter against New York Giants at EverBank Field. The Jaguars won 25-24. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Giants

In a tale of two halves, the Jacksonville Jaguars managed to rattle off 22 straight points (14 on defense) to sneak ahead of the New York Giants before putting on the game winning field goal to answer the Giants’ only three points in the second half. The Jags forced three fumbles (two for touchdowns), sacked Eli Manning four times, and turned in a dominant performance that the offense could barely hope to keep up with. Blake Bortles managed a nice 30 yard touchdown pass to fellow rookie Marqise Lee and he led the game-winning drive 55 yards in just under three minutes – with 28 seconds to go – to secure the game.

Blake Bortles sported his first mistake-free game of the season, amassing 194 yards, completing 60% of his passes, tossing one touchdown, and contributing another 68 yards on the ground. He was the offense for most of the game. The real story comes on defense, however, as the Jaguars were able to make some halftime adjustments to stop the bleeding after letting the Giants walk all over them for three touchdowns in the second quarter. Sen’Derrick Marks played particularly well, wrapping up Eli Manning twice. Overall, however, it was a team effort and even the secondary seemed to clamp down, giving the front four time to get to Manning.

Next: How Badly Did the Colts Beat Down the Redskins?