AFC South Preview for the 2018-19 Season

Okay, so it's that time again! 

I went a long time without really writing any previews for the upcoming season, but since the opening game is now just a few days away, it seems like the proper time. Usually, I start these previews with the division of the Super Bowl winner, but something got me onto the AFC South, and I got that done way before any other division. So, for no particular reason, here is the predictions for the AFC South:


The AFC South had been one of the weakest, if not arguably the weakest, division in the league for a few years running. But then last season, it sent two teams to the playoffs, and each team on at least on game once there. The Jaguars were on the verge of qualifying for the Super Bowl, although ultimately, they fell just short. Now, the Jaguars have to be seen as a serious contender, and Tennessee appears to still be a team that is on the rise. The Colts could be good again, although my suspicion is that they will fall short of that again. And the Texans looked miserable last season, and I would be hard pressed to find a reason why they will be much better this season.

Let's take a closer look at the AFC South for this upcoming season:

1. Tennessee Titans (projected division winners) - So, the Titans are a strange and unpredictable team. Yet, I suspect that this year, they will come out on top in this division, which very well may still be the weakest division in the league. Last year, however, it mproved stronger than I had given it credit for. The Titans qualified for the playoffs, and then upset the AFC West champion Kansas City Chiefs on the road once there, before ultimately getting blown out by New England in the divisional round. Still, Marcus Mariota is getting better and developing with each passing season. He should be better still this season, and provide strong leadership. Neither the offense nor the defense particularly stood out last season, although they showed spurts of improvement. They scored 33 points or more three times during a five game span in the first half of the season. And while the defense had some major lapses, allowing 57 points in one game and 40 in another, they tightened p at other times, allowing no more than 16 points in seven total games. It is hard for me to predict anyone else coming out with the divisional title in the AFC South except for the Titans, because it seems to me that they have been steadily working towards that for several seasons by this point. If they are to continue getting better, now is the time for the division championship as the natural step forward. Anything less, frankly, would be a disappointment. Speaking of disappointments, aren't major changes in uniforms supposed to improve a team's looks? Not a big fan of the new helmets or uniforms, and think that the Titans could have done better, and appeared a whole lot more original, by not giving into the temptation of going for dark blue helmets and jerseys. There are only two teams out there in the NFL with reddish helmets, and one of them is more maroon than red. The Titans could have looked a lot more distinctive with red helmets, I believe. Instead, they look pretty much like every other team that gives itself a supposedly exciting new look. I remember the days when exactly two teams - Pittsburgh and Chicago - had very dark helmets and jerseys, with the Steelers outright black, and the Bears version of navy blue seeming to border on black often times. Now, these helmets and uniforms are a dime a dozen, with the Titans now joining those two teams, as well as the likes of Atlanta, Baltimore, the Los Angeles Rams, Seattle, Jacksonville, Denver, and Houston. Yawn. Still, let's see if new uniforms yield new results, specifically with a division title and another playoff run. I predict that Tennessee will in fact go back to the playoffs, and will win this division, to boot. They just will not look particularly good doing it.

2. Houston Texans (projected second place) - The Houston Texans were atrocious last season. They had a strangely inconsistent offense, although their defense was only too consistent. Consistently horrendous. This team allowed more points than any other team in the league last season, and that will obviously have to change if the Texas hope to contend for the playoffs this year. Houston allowed 29 points or more seven times last season, which was one game shy of half of their entire season. There were only three games where this team allowed less than 20 points last season and only once did they allow 10 points or less (9 points, against Cincinnati). And there were absolutely no games where they allowed less than 20 points following their bye week, which means that when they really had to hunker down later in the season, they instead allowed a ton of points, and were thus never a factor in the playoffs. Not surprisingly, they won only one of those games. On offense, the Texans had one streak of five straight games where they were positively explosive, and scored no less than 33 points in each of those games. Tellingly, it was a sign of just how weak their defense was that while scoring at least 33 points during that five game stretch, they will wound up with a 2-3 record during that stretch. Unfortunately for Houston, the offense completely seemed to run out of gas towards the end of the season, and failed to score more than 16 points in any of their last six games. Clearly, they need to do better if they want to contend. Yet, I suspect that they will, because J.J. Watts will come back, and they have worked all off-season on these issues. Their offense clearly has talent, although they need to find better consistency. Still, I like the Texans to remain competitive enough to finish second, and at least contend for a playoff spot. 

4. Jacksonville Jaguars (projected third place team) - Jacksonville has an amazing season last year. They ranked fifth on offense in the league, and yet, their defense ranked even better. Defensively, this team ranked second, and that was part of the reason that they enjoyed easily their most successful overall season since 1999. Jacksonville only finished 10-6, although they probably could have been a lot better, given how well they played both offensively and defensively. But in the playoffs, they really came alive, knocking off the Bills in the Wildcard, and then stunning the Steelers in Pittsburgh to move to the AFC Championship. There, they tested the Patriots in New England, but ultimately bowed to them. Still, the Jaguars have plenty of reasons to feel great going into this coming season. However, I suspect that they took some opponents by surprise last season, which is a luxury they most certainly will not have this coming season. They could either feed off of the tremendous promise and success that they enjoyed last season, and really test just how good they can be, or they could fall flat, based on the high expectations that they set for themselves. I admit to expecting them to have a tough time adjusting and, ultimately, and see them struggling a bit. My predictions is that this team will finish in third place, and out of the playoffs. But there again, I expected them to be a solid pick for last place last year, and they clearly had other ideas. Maybe they will prove me wrong again. 

1. Indianapolis Colts (projected division winners) - The Colts make me feel a bit delusional, sometimes. They should have been way better than what they have shown in recent seasons, but they have not built upon their run to the AFC Championship Game a few years back. You might remember the "Deflategate" game for 2014-15, when they got absolutely blown away by the Patriots. Ever since then, the Colts have gone nowhere. Last year, it reached the pits for this franchise, as they ranked among the worst teams on both offense and defense, and bottomed out with a 4-12 record. Of course, they did not have Andrew Luck, who was injured, and that accounts for some of it. Luck will be returning this season, however, and that is why I am predicting them to finish in second place this season. That does not necessarily mean that they will be a legitimate playoff contender, but only that they should improve upon last season's dismal results. The Colts defense allowed 25 points or more a whopping seven times, and the offense cracked 30 points or more only once. Expect that to change with Luck in charge, at least. I see the Colts offense being potentially a whole lot better this coming season, although that defense might still prevent them from being too competitive. Ultimately, this division went from almost the joke of the league, to being filled with pretty decent teams, and that will make it difficult for the Colts to field a competitive team. But even if that comes true, and Indy is a non-factor, at least they did not change their uniforms to be as boring and predictable as humanly possible, like their division rivals, the Titans, went ahead and did, right?