On paper one could argue that the NFC South Division is the best in football. Like the NFC West, which features three teams with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations; the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams and the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, the AFC South has three high quality squads.
The Jacksonville Jaguars could be the best in the division, but the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans are also teams with playoff possibilities. The Colts, after all, were leading the league through the first half of last season before their quarterback, Daniel Jones, went down first with a nagging injury that affected his play and then a season ending one that brought his 2025 campaign to an abrupt end in December.
The Houston Texans have a top ranked defense, and if their quarterback, C.J. Stroud, could find the rhythm that he displayed in his rookie year, the Texans could go a long way in January.
But, that is what we have on paper. What we have on the field though a couple weeks of NFL action is the worst division in football. The AFC South has only one win between their four teams, that being an opening victory by the Jaguars at home over a suspect Cleveland Browns squad. Last week, the Jaguars lost a competitive game in Denver to the talented Broncos.
The Colts gave the Kansas City Chiefs a battle on Monday night, but in the end, it was Patrick Mahomes and company that came away with the overtime win, 33-30. As for the Texans, they lost a close one to the highly regarded Buffalo Bills in their home opener, 36-31, and then came up short against the surging Cincinnati Bengals in a second consecutive home loss.
Eight games played between the four teams that comprise the NFC South, and no division has fewer wins than the signal victory gained by this four team grouping.
What does that tell us?
Well, it could be that the AFC South is overrated, or, and this is my suspicion, there are a lot of wins ahead for this division. We know they will get at least one this week, barring a tie, because the Colts are hosting the Texans. Now, that is an important early season game because one of these potential talented teams is going to open 0-3.
Then there are the Jaguars.
Last season, Jacksonville caught fire from midseason on, pinned the Broncos with their only home loss in a mid-December contest, and had the Buffalo Bills down in a home playoff game before falling to the heroics of the visitors' talented quarterback, Josh Allen. The mid-season surge and competitive playoff game against the more postseason experienced Bills, gave promise to the Jacksonville fans that this could be their year.
It could be … and last week’s loss to the Broncos makes their chances for this week at home against the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots even better.
I like NFL teams coming off losses. A team has an easier time finding the motivation to put in a solid week of practice and show up on Sunday with the eye of the tiger after a loss than a win. The Patriots gave the defending champs all they could handle in the season opener at Seattle and notched their first win of the season in convincing fashion versus the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday. Neither of those results offer the Patriots any motivational boost for this week … while the Jaguars have the loss in Denver to spike their performance at home on Sunday.
Qoxhi Picks: Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) over New England Patriots