AFC South playoff picture: Texans regain No. 1 spot in division after “Thursday Night Football” victory

The Houston Texans are once again the divisional leaders of the AFC South after an epic battle with the Colts.

Coming into the 2019 regular season, some fans expected the AFC South to be a close and competitive division and it has lived up to those expectations. In this week’s “Thursday Night Football” matchup, the Houston Texans (7-4) and Indianapolis Colts (6-5) put on a show at NRG Stadium as their battle went down to the wire but was ultimately won by the Texans with the final score being 20-17. As a result, they regained the lead in the division.

Houston Texans 7-4

Indianapolis Colts 6-5

Tennessee Titans 5-5

Jacksonville Jaguars 4-6

The battle was neck-and-neck much of the way. In the first quarter, neither team could score, however, things started to get rolling in the second quarter. The Colts took a page out of Week 11’s game against the Jags and got quarterback Jacoby Brissett another rushing touchdown, while Deshaun Watson answered by taking advantage of a missed assignment in the Colts’ secondary that led to a wide-open DeAndre Hopkins touchdown catch. Both teams were also able to add a field goal before the half and went into half time with the score knotted up at 10-10.

In the third quarter, the Colts threw the first punch and connected with a rushing touchdown courtesy of running back Jonathan Williams, who continued his success from Week 11’s game against the Jags. Ultimately, he finished the game with just over 100 yards, the aforementioned touchdown and 22 carries. His touchdown also put the Colts up 17-10 in the third, though the Texans managed to score another field goal to make it 17-13 heading into the fourth quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Hopkins was able to hone in while understanding what was at stake and caught the game-winning touchdown with roughly 12:36 left in the game. That proved to be all the Texans needed as neither team scored again.

The new key divisional game, of course, will be the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans game on Sunday. Winning the division will be an incredibly difficult achievement for Jacksonville, especially if it comes down to trying to remove the Texans from the No. 1 spot. However, before they even have the conversation about playoff hopes they need to get to .500 first. That journey begins Sunday as they take on the 5-5 Titans, who chasing postseason hopes of their own.