Week 1 of the regular season is finally here. The games mean something now. Training camps are over, rosters are set, and fans are chomping at the bit for the real deal. Here is a preview of all the AFC South games in Week 1 of the regular season.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles, Sunday 1PM ET
The most obvious thing to keep an eye on in this game is the performance of quarterback Chad Henne. The regular season hasn’t even started yet and people are already calling for the Jaguars to start rookie Blake Bortles instead of Henne. I would imagine Henne has a short leash and if he struggles too much early, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bortles.
Staying on the offensive side of the ball, running back Toby Gerhart will be looking to get started early. Running against an Eagles defense that certainly has some difficulties tackling (41 missed tackles in four preseason games), Gerhart should have pretty good success to help the Jaguars have long drives and slow down the Eagles.
On the Jaguars’ defense, their defensive line will be the key. It’s a very underrated group and they will need to keep running backs LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles from breaking off long runs and make sure they get plenty of pressure on quarterback Nick Foles.
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday 1PM ET
As with most teams, the focus will be on the quarterback first and foremost. In today’s NFL, the quarterback is the most important position and it’s not even close. Jake Locker could be on his last leg in Tennessee entering this season. This Sunday won’t be the easiest test facing a pretty good Chiefs secondary in the deafening noise of Arrowhead Stadium.
The biggest thing to watch on the other side of the ball is how the Titans’ secondary will do without Alterraun Verner. Replacing Verner is going to be Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who won the vacant starting spot over Coty Sensabaugh, who will be the nickel cornerback. Verner certainly has left big shoes to fill, but Wreh-Wilson will have the luxury of easing into the starting role against a rather weak Chiefs receiving corps.
Washington Redskins at Houston Texans, Sunday 1PM ET
The Houston Texans had a complete overhaul of their coaching staff this offseason. With that change comes a change in defensive scheme. The Texans will change from a 4-3 defense to a 3-4. The two players to watch in that change will be J.J. Watt and rookie Jadeveon Clowney. Watt’s role in Romeo Crennel’s defense will be different than the one he has had in previous seasons but there’s no doubt he’ll thrive in this system as well.
On offense, will wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins take another step on his way to becoming a true threat and someone who can take attention off of Andre Johnson? And their quarterback, how long will Ryan Fitzpatrick be able to keep the job from newly traded for Ryan Mallett? It’s most likely the Texans are just waiting on Mallett to get up to speed on the playbook, which shouldn’t take too long since Mallett has some experience in head coach Bill O’Brien’s system.
Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos, Sunday 8:30PM ET
When facing Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, the first thing you need to make sure is in order is your secondary. The loss of strong safety Antoine Bethea to free agency could be detrimental to their secondary early in the season since LaRon Landry and Mike Adams probably aren’t completely use to playing along side each other.
For this game in particular, the Colts need second year player Bjoern Werner to take the next step towards being a premiere pass rusher in the NFL. If he can get a good pass rush against the Broncos it would certainly help out the secondary.
On offense the Colts will be hoping running back Trent Richardson shows some serious improvement from last season. An improved Richardson would certainly take some pressure off of quarterback Andrew Luck. Luck will also be hoping his offensive line is able to protect him better than they did last season too. They have a few new additions, including rookie left guard Jack Mewhort. The line will certainly have their hands full against the likes of Von Miller and Demarcus Ware.