The Houston Texans are 3-1 and on top of the AFC South after the first quarter of the season. The Texans were always the favorite to win the division after an electric (and unexpected) 2023 campaign but after four weeks, it looks as though the AFC South is absolutely theirs to lose.
The AFC South looked like it might be turning a corner last season when the Texans, Indianapolis Colts, and Jacksonville Jaguars all finished with winning records with only the Tennessee Titans sitting with a losing record. So far, however, only the Texans have looked like a playoff contender but we are still early in the regular season.
With the first quarter of the season in the books, let's rank the AFC South squads from worst to first.
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4. Jacksonville Jaguars
- Record: 0-4
- Week 4 Result: Lost 24-20 vs. Texans
- Week 5 Opponent: vs. Colts
The Jaguars have fallen so far after the impressive season they put together in 2022. As a reminder, after holding the first overall pick in back-to-back seasons, the Jags went on to win the AFC South and a playoff game in 2022 and there was a ton of hype for Doug Pederson, Trevor Lawrence, and the rest of the Jags squad after that season.
Despite a 6-2 start the next year, the Jags crumbled down the stretch to finish at 9-8. Lawrence has really struggled and has failed to win a game since defeating the Texans in late November last year. While the issues aren't all on Lawrence, he's the quarterback so he's going to shoulder a fair share of the blame here.
Following the loss to Houston, Pederson felt blindsided by the media asking him questions about his job security, which seems odd. His team is 0-4 and has woefully underperformed, what's to be shocked about?
As a whole, the Jags are in the bottom 10 in total offense and are in the bottom three of total defense. Not much is going right for them and if they don't turn it around quick, a lot of people are going to lose their jobs in Jacksonville.
3. Tennessee Titans
- Record: 1-3
- Week 4 Result: Won 31-12 vs. Dolphins
- Week 5 Opponent: Bye
The Titans collected their first win of the season, roughing up the Dolphins in South Beach on Monday Night Football. Will Levis left the game with a shoulder injury and Mason Rudolph went on to help lead his team to victory.
It's hard to know if the Titans are improved at all after this win because the Dolphins are absolutely garbage so far this season. That being said, the Titans scored a season-high 31 points and continued to make the Dolphins look atrocious, which is what Titans fans wanted to see.
The Titans have the best total defense in the league but their offense is still in the bottom five. If their offense can get going consistently, Tennessee could be a sneaky team to watch out for this year.
2. Indianapolis Colts
- Record: 2-2
- Week 4 Result: Won 27-24 vs. Steelers
- Week 5 Opponent: at Jaguars
The Titans weren't the only team to see their second-year starting quarterback have to leave the game after getting injured, as the Colts were in the same boat. Anthony Richardson left the game with a hip injury and was replaced by Joe Flacco, who threw for two touchdowns and helped Indy knock off the previously undefeated Steelers.
As much as it pains Texans fans to say the following, this was an impressive win for the Colts. Not only did they beat the Steelers but they put up 27 points on a Pittsburgh defense that looked nearly impossible to score on throughout the first three weeks of the season.
Through four weeks, the Colts have been an average offense but have had the worst total defense so far this season. This was on display in their Week 4 win, as a Steelers offense that previously could do very little was able to score 24 points and make the game close in the final quarter.
1. Houston Texans
- Record: 3-1
- Week 4 Result: Won 24-20 vs. Jaguars
- Week 5 Opponent: vs. Bills
It wasn't easy but the Texans pulled off a last-minute win over the Jaguars, dropping them to 0-4 while they climbed to 3-1 and continue to lead the AFC South. They've been one of the best offenses in the league through four weeks while their defense is just outside the top five. In other words, the Texans are only just getting started.
Most talking heads around the NFL figured the Texans would be the team to beat in the AFC South this season and they've shown why in their three wins. While their Week 3 loss to Minnesota wasn't fun, the Vikings are still undefeated so that's not an embarrassing loss by any means.
Has Houston fallen to the Jags this past weekend, they'd still be in the number one spot but there would definitely be more question marks surrounding them and if they're for real or not. Fortunately, we don't have to tackle that topic because they did what they were supposed to do and took down the Jaguars.