Jaguars: Way-too-early 2023 AFC South prediction

After finishing 2022 as AFC South champions, the Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to improve upon their 9-8 record in 2022 and potentially make a deeper run in the playoffs.

Being within one score (27-20) in a close loss against the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round caught nearly everyone off guard and certainly raised expectations for the Jags going into the 2023 season.

Below is a way-too-early prediction of how the AFC South will stack up after week 18 of the upcoming 2023 season.

4th Place – Houston Texans (4-13)

The Houston Texans are probably going to come in last once again.

The Houston Texans certainly surprised many fans by being relatively competitive in most of the games they played in 2022 despite many injuries and lacking true NFL starters at several positions on their roster.

They surprisingly had strong performances late in the season against playoff teams such as the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs.

On a more promising note going forward regarding the Texans, they did find themselves a solid starting running back in former Florida Gator Damien Pierce during his rookie year in 2022.

Although he never found himself as a true “bell cow” running back in college, splitting carries with Malik Davis, he took the role given to him by the Texans and literally ran with it. Pierce finished the season with nearly a thousand yards rushing (939) on 220 attempts (4.3 yards-per-carry).

Pierce was one of the few bright spots on their team and will most likely be one of the few again in 2023. The Texans will certainly do their best to revamp their entire roster starting with the quarterback position.

But regardless of who they sign or draft at the position, there will certainly be growing pains playing on a roster as depleted as Houston’s. It will most likely take two to three seasons before the Texans compete for a division title once again.