Injuries have set back some teams in the AFC South, and the Houston Texans are primed to take advantage of that this season.
Week 1 of the NFL season is complete, and there is a feeling the AFC South division title is the Houston Texans to lose. With multiple injuries to key players for other the AFC South teams, Houston is in a prime position to win in 2019.
The Jacksonville Jaguars saw starting quarterback Nick Foles suffer a broken left clavicle in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs during the first quarter as he threw a touchdown pass, but he is expected to return later this season.
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The Jaguars then inserted sixth round rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew in the lineup, and while he had an easy defense to play against this week against the Chiefs, his rookie year won’t get any easier.
The Jaguars have upcoming games against the Los Angeles Chargers, New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons this season, all who will bring a challenge.
As a result of Foles injury, the Jaguars traded a fifth round draft pick for Joshua Dobbs from the Pittsburgh Steelers to back up Minshew.
Going over to the Indianapolis Colts, a costly injury for them is wide receiver Devin Funchess.
As if the retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck was bad enough, the Colts lost Funchess to injured reserve with a broken collarbone. Deon Cain will more than likely be inserted into the starting lineup as a result of the injury to Funchess.
While Cain has received praise from Colts head coach Frank Reich, it will be a huge question mark after coming back from an injury sustained last season.
In Tennessee, Marcus Mariota and the Titans had quite a good showing against the Cleveland Browns, but it is tough to see them being a threat to the Texans this season. There are too many question marks surrounding whether the Titans can sustain an explosive offense, and if Mariota will just be a one-hit wonder in Week 1 or finally a franchise quarterback after the Browns game.
My confidence in Houston winning the AFC South title has grown more than it was a week ago because of those injuries. Plus, Houston showed they can play with high-quality teams following their last-second loss to the New Orleans Saints on Monday night.
It is not always the best practice to make predictions based off of Week 1 results and observations, but I do believe the Texans can win the AFC South and make the playoffs for a second consecutive season.