- The Houston Texans have won the AFC South three out of the last four years.
- Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Nick Foles made his return from a broken collarbone in Week 11.
- The Tennessee Titans have not won the AFC South since 2008.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Through 12 Weeks of football, no team in the AFC South division has emerged as the clear frontrunner. With only five weeks of football left, the race for the AFC South crown will be one of the most intriguing division races to follow because the difference between the first-place Indianapolis Colts and fourth place Jacksonville Jaguars is only two games.
With each team in the AFC South set to play each other in Week 12 many of the questions surrounding which team will capture the division title will be answered.
Houston Texans (-3.5) vs. Indianapolis Colts @ 8:20 p.m. ET
The Houston Texans were the favorite to win back to back AFC South titles heading into this year and they’ve remained at the top of the division for most of the season. Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson is having an MVP level season despite taking the fourth-most sacks in the NFL (31).
At US sportsbooks, the Texans are still favorite to win the AFC South with -110 odds. If the Texans are going to win the AFC South, they will have to do a better job of protecting Watson.
The Colts and Texans have identical records on the season (6-4) and are tied for first place; however, the Colts have not lost to a team in the AFC South this season, which gives them an edge in the tiebreaker.
Indianapolis has surprised the NFL bettors with how they’ve bounced back after the sudden retirement of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck at the beginning of the season. Indianapolis has the second shortest odds to win the AFC South at +140.
The Colts have had to grind out victories all season long as they’ve leaned on Jacoby Brissett to lead this team back into the playoffs. The Colts don’t have a tough schedule to finish the season, and that’ll be crucial for them heading down the stretch.
These two teams will match up against each other this week on Thursday Night Football where the Houston Texans are 3.5-point favorites to beat the Indianapolis Colts at home.
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The Colts have won 5 of their last six matchups against the Texans including a 30-23 victory in Week 4 of this season. This is a must-win game for both teams because the winner of this game will have the top spot in the AFC South.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans (-3) @ 4:05 p.m. ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars haven’t had the start to the season they expected. Quarterback Nick Foles missed most of the season and the team traded All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey to the Los Angeles Rams.
The team has a 4-6 record coming into Week 12 and this has hurt the Jaguars AFC South odds, having the longest odds of any team in the division at +1800. The Jags are only two games behind the first-place Colts and if they can get a winning streak going, they have a realistic shot at the division title.
The Tennessee Titans looked like a team that wasn’t going anywhere until they benched Marcus Mariota. Since Mariota’s benching starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been a much-needed spark for the Titans offense, and the team has won three of their last four games.
Now sitting at 5-5, sportsbooks list the Titans AFC South championship odds at +550, making them an intriguing gamble. However, in the final six weeks of the season, four of those games will be against AFC South opponents and the Titans will have to win all those games if they want to keep their division title hopes alive.
These two teams will face each other in Week 12 and the Titans are 3-point favorites to beat the Jaguars at home. Although neither of these teams are in the top half of the AFC South, this is a must-win game for both teams as they try to climb the division standings.
The Jaguars won the Week 3 meeting 20-7 in Jacksonville but haven’t won on the road against the Titans in their last five matchups. Also, both teams won’t be starting the same quarterback that they did in Week 3.
After Week 12, the AFC South will have a clear frontrunner for the first time this season. The Houston Texans have been favored to win this division since the preseason, and if they keep Deshaun Watson healthy, they should have no problem repeating as AFC South division champions.
As a professional sports writer, Robert has written for outlets such as the FAMUAN and other sports-centric platforms. He focuses mainly on NFL and NBA betting, though he keeps tabs on every major sport.
