Early Christmas Gift: Jaguars Leave Week 16 in 1st-Place in AFC South

The Jaguars are now tied with the Titans for the AFC South lead after the Titans fell to Davis Mills and the Texans at home on Saturday.

Christmas came early for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

After their second win in five days on Thursday, the Jaguars got to be home on Christmas Eve as the struggling Tennessee Titans fell to the hapless Houston Texans 19-14. The loss, which is the Titans' fifth in a row, drops them to 7-8. 

As a result, the 7-8 Jaguars are now leading for first place in the AFC South.

The Jaguars and Titans are all but ensured to enter Week 18 in a win-and-in type game for the AFC South crown in Jacksonville. The Jaguars play the Texans in Houston in Week 17 after losing 13-6 to the Texans in Week 5. 

While the Titans are having nothing go right during their final stretch of the season, the Jaguars are surging. The Jaguars have won their last three games and five of their last seven, with their only losses coming in road games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Detroit Lions.

The Titans will likely have to turn to rookie quarterback Malik Willis for the rest of the season after an ankle injury has knocked starter Ryan Tannehill off the field. The Titans will play the Dallas Cowboys in Week 17, setting up a likely playoff-type game in Week 18 in Jacksonville for Doug Pederson's squad.

"The message is just that we haven’t done anything. We haven’t clinched anything. We haven’t won anything. We’ve still got two games left, we’ve got two division games left," Pederson said after a 19-3 win over the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football. 

"I do want them to enjoy the holidays and enjoy Christmas with their families and friends. It’s time to heal and get healthy for this final two game stretch. I also want them to come back with the right frame of mind next week and get ready for a team that beat us a couple of months ago."