AFC South Standings and Opinions: Week 1
Sep 7, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson (80) makes a reception during the fourth quarter as Washington Redskins cornerback Bashaud Breeland (26) attempts to make a tackle at NRG Stadium. The Texans defeated the Redskins 17-6. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The first week of the NFL season saw the AFC South finish with the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans as the lone two teams who won in the division.
Sep 7, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) reaches the ball over the goal line for a touchdown during the first half against the against the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
For the season opener of the Texans, they had a 17-6 win over the Washington Redskins, and the Titans defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-10 at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Reigning AFC South champion, the Indianapolis Colts, lost to the reigning AFC champion Denver Broncos, 31-24, and the Jacksonville Jaguars fell by a 34-17 score to the Philadelphia Eagles.
As for the Texans, I would love to see more scoring from their passing game, but they didn’t have any interceptions with Ryan Fitzpatrick, so that is a win in itself.
Maybe the word I’m looking for with the Texans’ offense is “consistency.”
The Colts didn’t look like a team that everyone thought they could become this season. I know they were facing the Broncos, but if it weren’t for Andrew Luck, the Colts would be in a LOT of trouble.
The Jaguars played a very strong first half against the Eagles with a 17-0 lead at the break. But the usual Jaguars showed up in the second half, being outscored 34-0 in the second half.
One of the bigger surprises was the Titans defeating the Chiefs by 16 points. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think the Titans had any shot of winning this game when I woke up Sunday, but when you hold Jamaal Charles to 19 yards on seven carries, that is a good way to defeat Kansas City.
To sum up the first week for the AFC South, the one word I have is “surprised.”
I thought the Texans could win, and they did, and I didn’t expect the Jaguars to win and they lost. The surprise was the way the Titans played the Chiefs, and I thought the Colts would have played a more crisp and organized game, because Andrew Luck had very little help Sunday night.
With that said, here is the schedule for Week 2 in the AFC South:
Sunday, Sept. 14
• Dallas at Tennessee (1 p.m. ET, FOX)
• Jacksonville at Washington (1 p.m., CBS)
• Houston at Oakland (4:25 p.m. ET, CBS)
Monday, Sept. 15
• Philadelphia at Indianapolis (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)