Chiefs Contenders for AFC #1 Seed - AFC South

Looking at the Contenders in the AFC South

If you missed my article about the AFC West take a look at it here:

I still think the Chiefs finish out the season strong and the offense gets better but let’s take a deeper look at the AFC South and how the teams could affect the Chiefs’ odds to get the number one seed in the AFC.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Had I been writing this a week ago the story is likely to be much different. The Jaguars were on a roll and hadn’t lost a game in 5 weeks. After a humiliating loss to the 49ers on Sunday the question becomes how real are the Jaguars. Sitting at 6-3 they are definitely in a position to possibly catch the Chiefs if they can go on another run but at this point, the Chiefs are 1.5 games up on the Jaguars because of the head-to-head win in week 2.

A quick look at the rest of their season: Titans, at Texans, Bengals, at Browns, Ravens, Buccaneers, Panthers, and at the Titans. I think it’s reasonable to think they sweep the Titans, beat the Panthers, Browns (without Deshaun Watson, and Buccaneers. The question is can they go undefeated against the Texans, Bengals and Ravens and I would think the answer is no. They are likely to lose at least two of those games and would put them at around 12-5 for the year.

Houston Texans

The resurgent Texans are finding ways to win games that most would expect them to lose. The Bengals game is a great example of playing well enough as a team to keep your chance to win open at the end of the game. Getting to 5-4 at this point in the season with CJ Stroud looking like the answer at QB puts the Texans in a much different light. Stroud could push the Texans into a playoff team if he can continue playing the way he has.

A quick look at the rest of their season: Cardinals, Jaguars, Broncos, at Jets, at Titans, Browns (without Deshaun Watson), Titans, and at the Colts. I expect a sweep of the Titans, and beating the Cardinals, Broncos, and Jets. They will likely win against the Colts which would split the series with them for the season but then it comes down to the Jaguars game in two weeks. If they win that they are likely the division winners and going to the playoffs around 12-5 .

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts are an enigma this season. They have had great weeks where they were able to beat a team like the Ravens who have not been slowed by many teams this season. But then they also have games like the week 10 win against the Patriots where they won but by a score of 10-6. At 5-5 and on their bye week they should continue to play better as the season goes on but they are chasing two teams in their division I don’t see them overtaking.

A quick look at the rest of their season: Buccaneers, at Titans, at Bengals, Steelers, at Falcons, Raiders, and the Texans. They should win against the Buccaneers, Titans, Falcons, and Raiders but then it get’s much more difficult. The Bengals and Texans are likely losses and the Steelers game is a bit of a toss-up. They should end the season around 9-8 this season.

Tennessee Titans

I’m not getting into the Titans as they are out of the race for the one seed. Their biggest chance to affect the Chiefs is to pull off upset wins against contenders the rest of the season.

What do you think, can the Jaguars or the Texans catch the Chiefs?