Houston Texans Rivals Report: Titans lead AFC South after two weeks

The Houston Texans are already back two games in the AFC South, trailing the Tennessee Titans.

There is a lot of football left for the Houston Texans and the AFC South, but after two very tough opponents, the Texans sit at 0-2 overall, and they are two games back of the AFC South-leading Tennessee Titans.

Houston had a 33-16 loss this past Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, and before that Week 1 wasn’t any better with the Texans losing to the Kansas City Chiefs. Next for the Texans is another team that has started the season at 2-0, and that team is the Pittsburgh Steelers with the Texans playing at Heinz Field.

Though this game will feature all three Watt Brothers — the Texans have J.J. Watt, while the Steelers have T.J. Watt and Derek Watt — the Texans will need to worry about more than the upcoming family reunion … rather, they need to worry about getting their first win of the season.

Starting the season 0-3 just can’t happen tot he Houston Texans, and opponents aside, if the Texans want to be a serious contender, they must start defeating teams like the Chiefs, Ravens and even the Steelers.

As for how the AFC South rivals are looking so far this season, the Tennessee Titans had to battle the Jacksonville Jaguars to move to 2-0 on Sunday, while the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 28-11.

Looking at the Titans’ win over the Jaguars, Tennessee won by a 33-30 score with the help of a strong scoring first half with a 24-10 lead, but Jacksonville is scrappy and outscored the Titans, 20-9 in the fourth quarter.

Jacksonville is much more dangerous than anyone expected them to be, and Gardner Minshew put the Jaguars on his back offensively and was 30-of-45 for 339 yards passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Jaguars didn’t miss Leonard Fournette either as James Robinson totaled 102 yards on 16 carries for Jacksonville with one touchdown, all while averaging 6.4 yards per carry.

Jacksonville also has D.J. Chalk at wide receiver, and he had four receptions for 84 yards, catching all four targets that went his way.

Nobody expected the Jaguars to defeat the Colts in Week 1 (which they did), but to play within three points of the Titans, that especially wasn’t expected to happen in Week 2.

The Titans are now 2-0 on the season, and their starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill was on point in the touchdown pass department Sunday with an 18-of-24 performance for 239 yards and four touchdown passes with no interceptions. Derrick Henry did what was expected of him with 25 carries for 84 yards, but surprising enough, he didn’t have a touchdown.

Leading the Titans in receiving yards was Jonnu Smith with four receptions (five targets) for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Again, the Titans were one win away from playing in the Super Bowl last season, so nobody had better take this team lightly because they can be a special team once again, even with this close score.

Houston Texans News: Watch out for a tough Colts rushing game in 2020

In the Colts’ win over the Vikings, Indianapolis held Minnesota scoreless in the second and third quarters and allowed only three points in the first quarter. Though the Vikings scored eight points in the fourth quarter, the Colts had a 15-point second frame, then added three points in the third and 10 more points in the fourth quarter.

In his second game with the Colts, Philip Rivers was 19-of-25 for 214 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The player whom every team in the AFC South and in the NFL needs to watch is rookie running back Jonathan Taylor, who in just his second-ever NFL game totaled 26 carries for 101 yards with one touchdown.

Taylor is going to be a force to reckon with in the NFL, and the Colts were very smart to select him in the 2020 NFL Draft. Taylor is already paying dividends due to the Marlon Mack injury in Week 1, but Taylor is stepping up when his team needs him and is starting to make a name for himself.

The AFC South is better than many give it credit for, and though the Houston Texans aren’t scheduled to play another division team until Week 5 (will be facing the Jaguars) they still have a tough two weeks ahead before division play with the Steelers this Sunday, followed by a game against the Vikings.

Keep an eye on the AFC this weekend with Thursday Night Football featuring the Jaguars against the Miami Dolphins, and on Sunday the Colts will host the New York Jets and the Titans will be facing the Vikings on the road.

Be prepared for another tough showing by AFC South teams, because the rivals of the Houston Texans are getting pretty good at football this season.