AFC South Outlook: Titans Fall Further Back After Jacksonville's Primetime Win

The Tennessee Titans are facing significant adversity early in the season at 2-4 as their division rivals, particularly the Jacksonville Jaguars, continue to increase their edge in the AFC South.

The first game of Week 7 in the NFL saw the Tennessee Titans fall further behind in the AFC South race as the Jacksonville Jaguars defeated the New Orleans Saints on Thursday Night Football, improving to 5-2.

The Titans sit at 2-4 at the bye while being 0-1 in the division. That is on top of starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill being injured and likely out a few weeks. Coming out of the bye strong will be critical to the Titans salvaging the season because it isn't just Jacksonville they have to worry about, putting immense pressure on their young quarterbacks.

Both the Indianapolis Colts, demonstrated by their Week 5 win over the Titans, and the Houston Texans are improved teams from last season. Both teams sit at 3-3 and have young quarterbacks who have played well.

Unfortunately for the Colts, Anthony Richardson was injured in the game against the Titans on a hit from Harold Landry and will miss the rest of the season, but Gardner Minshew is one of the most capable backups in the NFL. 

The Colts will remain competitive with a roster full of veterans on both sides of the ball and have what essentially is a two-game lead on the Titans already due to their matchup a couple weeks ago.

The Texans are also on the rise. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has been incredible with 1,660 passing yards and nine touchdown throws. Stroud has done all this and led his team to a .500 record while playing behind a patchwork offensive line with second and third-stringers for most of the season.

Both the Colts and Texans have new coaching staffs and, in theory, only stand to improve. The Texans are getting healthier upfront and their young players all over the roster are getting comfortable and the Colts' veterans are back to form while Minshew may actually be a better player than a rookie in Richardson right now.

That is a long way to say, the Titans are not in an enviable situation. Odds of overcoming their start and winning the division are slim, but there is one reason to still have hope the Titans could make a comeback for the division crown.

The Titans don't have another division game until Week 11 when they face the Jaguars in Nashville. All of their home divisional games still remain. They could, again, in theory, sweep the rest of the games, including the Jaguars and give themselves a big advantage.

However, winning five more games would only put them at 7-10 and that won't get it done. So, this first few weeks out of the bye with winnable games against the Atlanta Falcons, Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will likely decide their fate before they hit their next divisional game.

The season likely boils down to these three weeks because the Titans divisional rivals are starting to ascend while the Titans seem to be regressing.

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