Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
Here is an updated look at the AFC South standings entering week 2.
The Indianapolis Colts (0-0-1) came out of Week 1 without a win but still find themselves at the top of the division going into the second week of the season.
Despite the matchup between the Colts and Houston Texans ending in a tie at NRG Stadium in Week 1, both teams have an advantage over the remaining two teams in the division as they lost their respective openers.
As we’ll do every week, here’s an update look at the AFC South standings entering Week 2:
The Titans will return to the No. 1 seed if the Pats lose to the Bills on “Monday Night Football.”
While the Tennessee Titans’ lead in the AFC South shrunk a bit during their bye week, head coach Mike Vrabel’s squad actually improved their positioning in the conference playoff picture on Sunday.
With the Indianapolis Colts beating up on the lifeless Houston Texans, 31-0, the Titans’ division rival inched a half-game closer, but still need to make up a game-and-a-half plus a tie-breaker with five games left to play.
1. Tennessee Titans (8-4)
2. Indianapolis Colts (7-6)
3. Houston Texans (2-10)
4. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-10)
Meanwhile, in the conference, Tennessee actually moved up from the No. 3 seed to No. 2 thanks to the Baltimore Ravens’ loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
We now shift our focus to “Monday Night Football,” where the New England Patriots, the current No. 1 seed, will visit the Buffalo Bills. Should the Pats lose, the Titans would move up to the top spot.
Here’s a look at the current AFC playoff picture ahead of Monday night, along with each team’s Week 14 opponent:
1. New England Patriots (8-4): BYE
2. Tennessee Titans (8-4): vs. JAX
3. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): at CLE
4. Kansas City Chiefs (8-4): vs. LV
5. Buffalo Bills (7-4): at TB
6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-5): vs. NYG
7. Cincinnati Bengals (7-5): vs. SF
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5-1): at MIN
9. Indianapolis Colts (7-6): BYE
10. Las Vegas Raiders (6-6): at KC
11. Cleveland Browns (6-6): vs. BAL
12. Denver Broncos (6-6): vs. DET
13. Miami Dolphins (6-7): BYE
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With the Titans’ win and the Cardinals’ loss, Tennessee is now tied for the best record in the NFL.
The Tennessee Titans were atop the AFC South and conference going into Week 10, and while that is still the case after the 23-21 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Titans also claimed a stake of the best record in the NFL.
Tennessee improved to 8-2 on Sunday, and thanks to the Carolina Panthers smoking the Arizona Cardinals, the Titans are tied for the top mark in the league with the aforementioned Cardinals, and the Green Bay Packers.
As far as the conference is concerned, the Titans opened up their lead there, now owning a two-game advantage over the Baltimore Ravens, who came into this week as the No. 2 seed but dropped their Thursday night game.
Also tied with the Ravens behind the Titans is the Buffalo Bills. The Bills currently own the No. 2 seed over the Ravens thanks to tie-breaker, which means Tennessee really has a three-game lead because they own the tie-breaker, which is head-to-head record, over the Bills.
According to FiveThirtyEight, the Titans have a 76-percent chance to earn the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the playoffs, which is a better mark than any team in the NFL by a whopping 36 percent (Packers at 40 percent).
Last but certainly not least, the Titans maintained their three-game plus tie-breaker lead over the Indianapolis Colts, who narrowly squeezed one out against the Jacksonville Jaguars, 23-17.
To get a better understanding of just how in control of the AFC South the Titans are, Tennessee could go 3-4 in their last seven games and Indianapolis would have to go undefeated in order to catch them and take the division (H/T Mike Herndon on Twitter).
The Titans could go 3-4 over the remainder of the season (vs HOU, at NE, vs JAX, at PIT, vs SF, vs MIA, at HOU) and the Colts would have to go undefeated to win the division. Just in case anyone was still pretending the AFC South was a race.
— Mike Herndon (@MikeMiracles) November 15, 2021
Looking ahead, the Titans have a peachy matchup against the 1-8 Houston Texans at home in Week 11. The Colts will be in a tough spot against the Bills on the road, while the Ravens travel to take on the Chicago Bears.
No matter what happens with the Titans next week, they’ll remain atop the AFC South and conference. If they win, they could open up their lead further depending on what happens with the Colts, Ravens and Bills.
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The Titans are tied atop the AFC after their Week 7 win over the Chiefs.
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Not only did the Tennessee Titans keep their lead over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South standings after their Week 7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, but Tennessee also sits tied atop the conference.
The Titans maintained their two-game lead over the Colts, who were victorious over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, 30-18.
Here’s a look at the full AFC South standings after the Titans and Colts won, the Houston Texans lost, and the Jacksonville Jaguars were on a bye.
1. Tennessee Titans (5-2)
2. Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)
4. Houston Texans (1-6)
And, don’t look now, but the Titans are tied for the best record in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens, Las Vegas Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals.
Cincy crushed Baltimore on Sunday, 41-17, and the Raiders won, also, 33-22, over the Philadelphia Eagles. If the playoffs started today, the Titans would own the No. 3 seed and would host the Los Angeles Chargers.
Here’s a look at AFC playoff picture (seeds one through seven make the playoffs):
1. Cincinnati Bengals (5-2)
2. Las Vegas Raiders (5-2)
3. Tennessee Titans (5-2)
4. Baltimore Ravens (5-2)
5. Buffalo Bills (4-2)
6. Los Angeles Chargers (4-2)
7. Cleveland Browns (4-3)
In the hunt:
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3)
New England Patriots (3-4)
Indianapolis Colts (3-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (3-4)
Denver Broncos (3-4)
We fully expect the Chiefs to move up into one of these playoff spots at some point. The good news for Tennessee is that they now hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over both Kansas City and Buffalo.
There’s a long way to go, but the Titans are in a great spot to not only secure a home playoff game, but quite possibly home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
Up next for the Titans will be the Colts in Indianapolis in Week 8. The Titans won the pair’s first meeting back in Week 3, 25-16. With another win, Tennessee can practically shut the door on the AFC South.
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Taking a look at the AFC South standings in Week 5.
The Indianapolis Colts finally got their first win of the season and wound up being the only team in the division to add to the win column in Week 4.
There is still a lot of season left for the Colts to make a run, but they will be challenged with a tough task to keep their winning ways going in Week 5 with a prime-time matchup in Baltimore on tap.
Here’s how the AFC South standings look like entering Week 5:
Here’s where the Jags stand in the AFC South picture after four winless weeks.
Jacksonville suffered its fourth-straight loss to begin the season on Thursday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals, and this one was particularly heartbreaking, as the Jaguars never surrendered the lead until rookie Bengals kicker Evan McPherson drilled a chip-shot game-winner as time expired.
With the Jags still searching for their first tally in the win column this season, competing in the AFC South division race is the last thing on the minds of fans. However, because of the play of the teams around them, the Jaguars aren’t necessarily out of contention (at least, in theory).
The rest of the division is struggling considerably right now. After beating Jacksonville in Week 1, the Houston Texans have lost three straight games, largely because they lost quarterback Tyrod Taylor in Week 2. Rookie Davis Mills has started the last two games, and he threw four interceptions in a 40-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the division-leading Tennessee Titans suffered an embarrassing setback at the hands of the New York Jets and struggling rookie quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson had his best game as a pro as the Jets earned a 27-24 victory in overtime, knocking the Titans back to 2-2 and keeping their division lead at one game.
The previously winless Indianapolis Colts managed to jump the Jaguars in Week 4, as they earned their first victory on the road against a Miami Dolphins team that is still without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa until they play the Jags in London, according to Adam Schefter.
Colts quarterback Carson Wentz had a very efficient game, totaling 228 yards and two scores on 24-of-32 passing, while running back Jonathan Taylor crossed the century mark on the ground. Indy won 27-17 to move into a tie with Houston for second in the division.
Here’s how things stand after Week 4.
| Team | W | L | Pt. Difference |
| Tennessee | 2 | 2 | -16 |
| Houston | 1 | 3 | -49 |
| Indianapolis | 1 | 3 | -14 |
| Jacksonville | 0 | 1 | -41 |
Here’s what the rest of the AFC South was up to on Sunday.
Jacksonville didn’t show many positive signs in a 23-13 loss to Denver on Sunday, though the team did improve a bit in some ways from a beatdown against the Houston Texans in Week 1. Luckily for the Jags, the Texans, who were the division’s only victorious team last week, couldn’t expand their lead.
Though Tyrod Taylor had another great start against the Cleveland Browns, he had to leave the game with an injury, and rookie Davis Mills struggled in replacing him. A 95-yard, one-touchdown day from Cleveland running back Nick Chubb sealed a 31-21 victory in a game that was tied at 14 at halftime.
Still, for a while, it looked like Houston would remain as the division’s sole leader, as the Tennessee Titans trailed the Seattle Seahawks 23-9 at halftime. But the Titans fought back, and a massive second half from running back Derrick Henry, who had 182 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries, led the Titans to a 33-30 comeback win in overtime.
Indianapolis, meanwhile, had another tough game. Facing the Los Angeles Rams at home, Indy was tied up at 24 when quarterback Carson Wentz had to leave the game with an ankle injury. He didn’t return, and the Colts couldn’t pull it off with Jacob Eason at the helm as the Rams won by a field goal.
With no clear separation in the division, Jacksonville still has a chance to compete, at least theoretically. But if that’s going to happen, it will need to play a lot better in the weeks to come.
Here are the full AFC South standings after Week 2.
| Team | W | L | Pt. Difference |
| Houston | 1 | 1 | +6 |
| Tennessee | 1 | 1 | -22 |
| Indianapolis | 0 | 2 | -15 |
| Jacksonville | 0 | 2 | -26 |
Titans now lead the division.
The Indianapolis Colts (7-4) had a chance to control their own destiny down the stretch of the season, but the 45-26 loss Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Tennessee Titans (8-3) complicates that mission.
Both teams came into this game tied at the top of the division. But the Colts held the tiebreaker from the Week 10 win over the Titans at Nissan Stadium.
But now with the Titans holding a better record, they will take the lead in the division. This complicates matters further when considering the Titans have a better division and conference record. That’s what the tiebreakers will come down to at the end of the season seeing as the teams split the head-to-head matchups.
After the Titans came away with a drubbing of a win on Sunday, here’s how the division looks:
The Colts still have four more winnable games this season. Two against the Texans, one against the Raiders and one more against the Jaguars. The Week 16 game against the Steelers will be a tough game for Indy.
But now the Colts will be looking to regroup in a crucial divisional matchup against the Texans while looking to stay in the AFC playoff race.
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A look at the AFC South with three games left.
The Indianapolis Colts season is just about over in terms of the importance of the games with just three contests remaining entering their Week 15 matchup with the New Orleans Saints.
As the Colts prepare for the primetime showdown on Monday night, the hopes of making the playoffs are essentially gone as Indy has a 2% chance of making the postseason. A loss against the Saints on Monday night will officially end the season—though most are already looking toward what the offseason might bring.
With three games remaining, the AFC South continues to be a tight race with two teams at the top. Here’s a look at the standings entering Week 15:
With a chance to keep their separation atop the division, the Texans blew it big time. At home against the Denver Broncos, the Texans got blown out 38-17. It was much worse before the Texans got a pair of touchdowns in garbage time.
The Texans hold the division lead due to their 3-1 division record but they are on the road against the Titans in Week 15.
The Titans have been surging ever since Ryan Tannehill took over under center. The offense is much better, and they have a legitimate shot at taking the division from the Texans. They are coming off of a dominating 42-21 win over the Raiders.
The Titans have a crucial home game against the Titans in Week 15—one that could determine the fate of the AFC South champion.
After starting 5-2, the Colts have lost five of their last six games. That includes the 38-35 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Jacoby Brissett had a solid game, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the high-flying Bucs offense.
The Colts visit the Saints on Monday Night Football in Week 15. If they lose, they are officially knocked out of playoff contention.
When it rains, it pours. This has been a lost season for the Jaguars, who took a 45-10 beating at home against the Los Angeles Chargers. The defense has regressed massively since the Jalen Ramsey trade, and Gardner Minshew hasn’t been able to bring any juice to a lifeless offense.
The Jaguars are on the road against the Raiders in Week 15.
A look at the AFC South standings in Week 14.
It has been made well known by now that the Indianapolis Colts (6-6) took a hit in the standings following their 31-17 loss against the Tennessee Titans (7-5) at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.
With just four games remaining in the regular season, the Colts are looking like a team that will miss out on the playoffs. Their recent slide of four losses in the last five games against winnable opponents will be the biggest reason they are held out of the postseason, barring a miracle.
Here is how the AFC South standings look entering Week 14:
An impressive win in primetime against the New England Patriots, the Texans have a one-game lead in the division and are currently the AFC’s No. 3 seed with four games left. Deshaun Watson is on fire lately with five touchdowns to one interception in the last two games.
The Texans are at home in Week 14 hosting the Denver Broncos (4-8) at NRG Stadium.
Currently second in the division and the No. 7 seed in the AFC playoff race, the Titans have been one of the hottest teams in the conference. Their win over the Colts was their fifth in the last six games since Ryan Tannehill took over under center. Derrick Henry continues to torch defenses as he racked up 149 rushing yards and a touchdown in the win.
The Titans are on the road visiting the Oakland Raiders (6-6) at Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in Week 14.
It hasn’t been the best of second halves for the Colts. They’ve dropped four of their last five games while averaging just 19.8 points per game in their last four contests. While the defense has been strong, the Colts haven’t been able to get their passing game going. Sunday’s loss was the first time in five games the Colts crossed the 200 passing-yard threshold.
In Week 14, the Colts hit the road for sunny Florida visiting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7) at Raymond James Stadium.
The Jaguars have been brutal over the last month, which includes a four-game losing streak. Three of those happen to be when Nick Foles returned from the broken collarbone he suffered in Week 1. The Jaguars were long out of serious contention, but they now will be turning back to rookie quarterback Gardner Minshew to salvage something of this season.
The Jaguars are at home hosting Los Angeles Chargers (4-8) at TIAA Bank Field in Week 14.
