State of the AFC South Following Week 5

What is the outlook of the AFC South through the first five weeks of the season? We break down what the Jaguars and their rivals have going for and against them here.

The fifth week of the NFL season saw the Tennessee Titans return to play and a divisional bout between the Houston Texans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, making it quite the week for the AFC South.

So with us now five games into the season, what does the AFC South look like and what could it mean moving forward? We break it down here.

AFC South standings

1. Tennessee Titans (4-0, 1-0): The Titans returned to football on Tuesday night, defeating the previously undefeated Buffalo Bills in an impressive 42-16 showing.
2. Indianapolis Colts (3-2, 0-1): Indianapolis' three-game winning streak came to an end in Week 5 due to a 32-23 loss to the 4-1  Cleveland Browns.
3. Houston Texans (1-4, 1-0): Houston was winless entering Week 5 but much like the Dolphins and Bengals before them, they found a solution in the Jacksonville Jaguars in a 30-14 win.
4. Jacksonville Jaguars: (1-4, 1-2): Jacksonville has played almost half of its divisional schedule already, going 1-2 in such games due to a 30-14 loss to the Texans in Houston. The Jaguars are now in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

Jacksonville Jaguars

What to like: Jacksonville had two fourth-year defenders have breakout games in the loss to Houston. The defense still allowed 30 points, but Sidney Jones and Dawuane Smoot had two of the best defensive performance of any Jaguars players all season. The duo, each 2017 draft picks (Smoot by Jacksonville, Jones by Philadelphia) played roles in both of Jacksonville's two turnovers of Deshaun Watson. Smoot deflected a Watson pass at the end of the first half, resulting in Jones intercepting the pass. Then in the third quarter, Jones deflected a deep Watson pass that would end up intercepted by Jarrod Wilson. For a Jaguars team with a defense that has had much more bad than good, this is a positive sign.

What to dislike: The Jaguars didn't convert two of their four red-zone trips in Houston into points, with the issues being both execution and coaching. When the issues are two-fold, that makes it all the more concerning in the long-term. On the first of the failed trips, the Jaguars and Stephen Hauschka missed an easy 24-yard field goal. On the second, the Jaguars attempted a halfback pass on a fourth-and-one at Houston's eight-yard line, resulting in a James Robinson fumble. 

Next opponent: The Jaguars will host the 1-3 Detroit Lions on Sunday.

Indianapolis Colts

What to like: The Colts' defense allowed 23 points against the Cleveland Browns in Week 5, but they had a more impressive performance against the Browns' playmakers than most other defenses so far this year. The Browns were limited to just 3.8 yards per carry, while Baker Mayfield completed only 56.8 % of his passes for 247 yards (6.7 yards per attempt) for two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Colts' defense gave up a few too many big plays, but they were good enough to win in Week 4.

What to dislike: Philip Rivers was directly responsible for the Browns scoring nine points; seven due to a terrible pick-six and two more due to a safety as a result of a penalty. Rivers has failed to have a standout game for the Colts, but he does continue to make the same mistakes within the AFC South that he made for years as the quarterback of the Chargers. Rivers is still the best option at quarterback, but he will have to play better moving forward.

Next opponent: The Colts host the 1-3-1 Bengals on Sunday.

Houston Texans

What to like: After recording zero turnovers through the first month of the season, the Texans were able to reverse their fortunes in Week 5 against the Jaguars. The Texans got two turnovers, both fumbles, off of a Jaguars offense. The first came when James Robinson attempted a halfback pass on fourth-down, while the second occurred in the game's final quarter when Gardner Minshew was sacked by Jacob Martin from behind. The Texans struggled to get any positive results on defense through the first four weeks, but they finally got good news against the Jags.

What to dislike: The offense that Deshaun Watson plays in has always felt like it has held him back, and this was more or less the case on Sunday. Watson turned it on in the second half by throwing a pair of scores, but the offense looked sluggish to start against an injured and struggling Jaguars defense that has not played winning football all season. The Texans are 1-4 and need to simply let Watson open up the offense.

Next opponent: Texans will travel to Nashville to face the Titans in Week 6.

Tennessee Titans

What to like: Six red zone drives and six touchdowns for the Titans on Tuesday against a stingy Bills defense. Yeah, that is pretty dang good. Considering the Titans had been off for two weeks and were missing several key offensive players, it was rather surprising to see the Titans have their way with the Bills' defense, but maybe it shouldn't have been. It is time to start accepting Ryan Tannehill as a top quarterback.

What to dislike: Buffalo never came close to challenging for the Titans' second-half lead, but if their defense got a stop maybe they could have. The Titans allowed fewer than 20 points on defense but the pass-rush in particular looked absolutely woeful; Josh Allen had several plays in the pocket in which he was able to literally stand still and scan the field for seconds, for example. 

Next opponent: The Titans host the Texans on Sunday.