Standings Watch: No Ties, No Confusion
NASHVILLE – For the first time all season there is a clear pecking order in the AFC South. No tiebreakers needed.
The Tennessee Titans claimed second place – for now, at least – with their 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. It was their fifth victory in six games and their second straight against a division opponent (they topped Jacksonville a week earlier). That makes them the division’s hottest team and one of fastest climbing teams anywhere in the league. Tennessee is tied with Buffalo for the AFC’s second-longest win streak (three games) behind Baltimore (eight). Seattle (four) is the only other team that has won more than three in a row.
Now, with four weeks – and two head-to-head meetings – to go, the Titans trail first-place Houston by a game. That means their path to a division title, which they haven’t won since 2008, is as clear now as at any time.
Tennessee also is tied with Pittsburgh for the final wild card spot, but the Steelers hold the edge based on a better conference record (6-3).
“I’m sure most everybody (on our roster) has won seven games in the National Football League,” coach Mike Vrabel said Monday. “It’s not that big of a deal. That’s going to be the message – that seven games won’t get you anything. … We just need to continue to do what we’ve been doing, coming in and prepare, [get] as healthy as we possibly can and move on.”
And maybe even move up one more spot.
A look at the current AFC South standings, with each team’s records against the division and the conference (through Sunday):
| Team | Record | vs. Division | vs. AFC |
|---|---|---|---|
Houston | 8-4 | 3-1 | 7-2 |
Tennessee | 7-5 | 2-2 | 5-4 |
Indianapolis | 6-6 | 3-2 | 5-6 |
Jacksonville | 4-8 | 1-4 | 4-5 |
Sunday’s results
Tennessee 31, Indianapolis 17
Houston 28, New England 22
Tampa Bay 28, Jacksonville 11
This week’s games
Tennessee at Oakland (6-6)
Houston vs. Denver (4-8)
Indianapolis at Tampa Bay (5-7)
Jacksonville vs. L.A. Chargers (4-8)
Even with the separation, the AFC South remains one of the NFL’s most competitive divisions. It is the only one in the AFC and one of three, along with the NFC North and NFC West, in which three teams are currently .500 or better. It is one of two (the NFC South is the other) in which all four teams have at least one win within the division.
In terms of the conference standings, Indianapolis, in ninth, is tops among the third-place teams and Jacksonville, 11, is the best of the last-place clubs.
“It’s huge … to put ourselves in the race for the number-one spot in the division, especially with two games against Houston,” defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said Sunday. “[It is] in our hands. This right here comes down to the big boy ball. It’s definitely going to be that in December. That’s what it’s about.”
