Why the Houston Texans can take hold of the AFC South
With quarterback Andrew Luck of the Indianapolis Colts potentially out for the entire season, the AFC South division is now a three team race and the Houston Texans can seize the day.
According numerous sources, including Alex Flanagan of NFL Media, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports and Rob Goldberg of Bleacher Report, Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck could miss the entire 2017 season.
Unfortunately for the Colts, but opportunistic as the AFC South Division becomes a three team race. The Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars can now leave a very bad Colts team in the dust.
Can the Texans capitalize? I think they can and here is why:
The Texans have the most potent offense in the division. Better weapons across the board. Something magical is happening on offense this year with rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson at the helm.
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The Jaguars and the Titans have a 4-3 record. They have played one more game, so essentially, with the Texans at 3-3, we have a tie.
Looking at the point differential, the Colts are -103. Without Luck at quarterback, Indy is just bad.
The Titans are -15. The Texans are +30. The Jaguars are +73. A good metric for the Jaguars, however, having played one more game, they have scored only five more points. I suspect the Jaguars lead stat would not be as wide had the Texans played the same number of games.
Luck is not the only quarterback that’s injured. Titans’ quarterback Marcus Mariota has a strained hamstring. We know soft tissue injuries can linger.
Due to his injury, Mariota has been more of a pocket passer as opposed to using his ability to run. This has limited his effectiveness.
Jaguars’ quarterback Blake Bortles is just not very good.
Not only is Watson the best quarterback in Texas, but he is also the best quarterback in the division.
Looking at the schedule, I predict six guaranteed wins for the Texans that include the following:
Two wins against a bad Colts team.
One win against a Titans team whose offense does not look lethal, with an average defense and a hobbled quarterback.
One win against a Jaguars team that has been leaning on their defense, and has a terrible quarterback.
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One win against the Cardinals, who just lost their starting quarterback.
One win against a 49ers team that everyone is beating up on.
That alone will bring the Texans to 9-3, including four more division wins.
Houston has proven in the past that nine wins is enough to win the AFC South over the past two seasons. If the Texans can add a few more wins with the remaining schedule, they will be on their way to a division title.
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