AFC South Preview and Predictions

December 19, 2015

Twitter: @kongfu4u AFC South

Indianapolis Colts & Houston Texans

Houston Texans (6-7) @ Indianapolis Colts (6-7)

Believe it or not, this game will decide who will be first place in the AFC South. But, there is a lot of uncertainty with injured quarterbacks for both teams.

T.J. Yates

Texans – Brian Hoyer is said to be ruled out this Sunday against the Colts with his second concussion this month. T.J. Yates will lead the charge for the Texans, looking to make the Texans first in the division. Yates started in week 11, against the New York Jets, passing for 229 yards, throwing for 2 touchdowns and winning the game 24-17.

The Texans advantage is their defense, totaling 30 sacks, 10 interceptions and 19 forced fumbles. The defense has allowed 216.6 passing yards – the third fewest in the league, and 114.2 rushing yards per game. Of course, all the defensive plays won’t earn the Texans a win (excluding the defensive touchdown) if the offense is unable to score. If the offense has a repeat of week 14, scoring only 2 field goals, being first in the division and entering the post season will be a distant memory.

Matt Hasselbeck – Getty Images

Colts – Matt Hasselbeck (rib) is said to be probable against the Texans. Even if Hasselbeck takes the field, at less than 100%, the Colts won’t be in a better position than the Texans using their back-up. The offensive line will need to provide Hasselbeck with time and protection, while Hasselbeck will need to get the ball out of his hands in a hurry if he wants to avoid getting hit, and potentially be taken out of the game. In week 14, the Colts offense was unable to score a touchdown, while the Jacksonville Jaguars put up 51 points. With Hasselbeck less than healthy, the Colts will need to rely more on their ground game to take some pressure of their quarterback. Unfortunately for the Colts, their ground game has been non-existent. Frank Gore has had only 163 yards and no touchdowns in the last four games.

The Colts defense have some problems of their own. They have allowed the fourth most passing yards in the league, 276.2, and eighth most rushing yards, 121.4. If the Colts want any chance in the post-season, the defense can’t allow the Texans to land another 50-burger on their heads.

The game will come down to whichever offense (or defense) can score, whichever team makes the most mistakes and whichever defense is able to puts on the pressure – obviously.

Expect the Texans to win
Expect T.J Yates to throw for 2 touchdowns
Expect Matt Hasselbeck to be sacked
Expect that Matt Hasselbeck won’t finish the game

Jacksonville Jaguars

Atlanta Falcons (6-7) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (5-8)

The Falcons started the season with a 5-0 record, but quickly spiraled downwards with one loss after another. The Falcons have loss 7 out of their last 8 games. And in week 14, Atlanta was shut out against the Carolina Panthers (13-0). At least the defense “held” Cam Newton to only 38 points.

A win for the Jaguars mean a tie for second in the division, with two games remaining in the regular season.

But, first the Jaguars will have to win.

Matt Ryan

Luckily for the Falcons, the Jaguars are not the Carolina Panthers. Unfortunately, in the last 6 games, Matt Ryan has as many interceptions as he does touchdowns (8). And even with receivers like Julio Jones, the Falcons seem to be having difficulty getting the ball into the endzone. The receivers aren’t the only problem in the Atlanta offense, since DeVonta Freeman’s return three weeks ago, he’s had less than 50 yards per game and no touchdown. Freeman, who’s lead this team with the most touchdowns (9) this season, has yet to find the endzone in the latter half of the season. If the Falcons are unable to regain the chemistry they had in the beginning of the season, a win will be impossible in week 15.

In week 14, the Jaguars defense was able to hold the Colts’ offense to only 3 field goals, with the only touchdown scored by the Colts defense. This ever improving team will face off against the Falcons at home, EverBank Field, hoping to repeat week 14.

Denard Robinson – Florida Times-Union Photo

T.J. Yeldon will be out for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, who left week 14’s game against the Colts with a knee injury. The Jaguars have signed running back Jonas Gray off Miami Dolphins practice squad. You might remember Gray from the November 24, 2014 cover of Sports Illustrated after setting a franchise record with 4 rushing TDs against the Colts. Gray’s stint with the New England Patriots ended up being short, even though he tallied 89 carries, 412 rushing yards, five touchdowns, as he was released in September of this year after getting on Bill Belichick’s black list.

Denard Robinson will be the starting running back on Sunday. In week 14, Robinson had 14 carries for 75 yards and 1 touchdown after Yeldon left the game. With the Falcons allowing 499 rushing yards in their last 3 games, this Sunday will be the opportunity Robinson needs to show his value to the team.

As the Atlanta defense has been on a slow downward spiral, the Jaguars defense has totaled 39 sacks, 13 interceptions where 3 have been returned for a touchdown, 10 forced fumbles where 3 have been recovered for a touchdown.

Expect the Jaguars to win
Expect Bortles to have 2 touchdowns
Expect Bortles to be intercepted at least once
Expect the Jaguars to have a defensive touchdown
Expect Devonta Freeman to have a touchdown

Tennessee Titans

Tennessee Titans (3-10) @ New England Patriots (11-2)

With a yahoo point spread of 14, favoring the Patriots, and an ESPN match-up predicting that the Titans have a 10.5% of winning, the Titans travel to Gillette Stadium to play one of the best teams in the league.

Marcus Mariota

The Titans have had times of brilliance this season, as well as times of inability. As a rookie, Marcus Mariota has shown positive strides in his transition as an NFL quarterback. Marcus Mariota has thrown for 2786 passing yards, 252 rushing yards, 19 passing touchdowns and 2 rushing touchdowns. Like many other teams in the league, the Titans have a mediocre run game, Kendall Wright is still out, and Mariota has minimal reliable options downfield. Delanie Walker has been the greatest contributor on the team, but the Titans will need more than Walker to win against the Patriots.

Tom Brady – AP Photo

The Patriots are rarely an unprepared team. And, a rookie quarterback will be hard pressed to beat Tom Brady and the Patriots. Brady has 4138 passing yards, 33 touchdowns and 3 rushing touchdowns. Although Julian Edelman will be out, Brady will have Rob Gronkowski and Danny Amendola on the field. A combination that is hard to beat.

There’s no doubt that the Patriots will win, it’s just a question by how much?

Don’t count the Titans out of the game. The Titans defense have 44 sacks, 13 interceptions (2 of which were returned for a touchdown) and 16 forced fumbles.