As the season keeps moving forward, the picture continues to develop more and more of who is for real and who isn’t. We start to get a better idea of which teams have a shot at the postseason and which teams are more concerned with their 2015 draft position. The AFC South is no different; one team is already looking ahead to the draft, one team is trying to hang on for dear life, and two others will most likely be fighting for the division through the season. Here’s a preview of their Week 5 games:
Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans, Sunday 1PM ET
The Tennessee Titans are 1-3 and holding on for dear life. With starting quarterback Jake Locker out due to injury they’ll be starting Charlie Whitehurst for the second straight week. This is problematic because, well, he’s Charlie Whitehurst. If Whitehurst can pull off a few wins before Locker comes back they’ll still have a shot in the wide open AFC to make the playoffs. If they lose this game and drop to 1-4, they’ll be all but finished.
The Cleveland Browns came into this season with their defense garnering the most attention. However, their offense has performed markedly better so far this season. It’s not a lock that the Browns win but there’s certainly a good chance they come into Tennessee and get a win. What might save the Titans is that desperate teams playing at home can be very dangerous. However, I don’t see this Titans team as a dangerous one. I see the Browns winning a close one and all but shutting down the Titans’ season.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday 1PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars have the unfortunate task of playing the Pittsburgh Steelers right after the Steelers lost to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are going to come into Jacksonville and take their anger out on the Jaguars.
Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles made his first start last week against the San Diego Chargers and didn’t perform so well. However, the Chargers’ secondary is much better than Pittsburgh’s so there’s a good chance he has a much better game this week. The Steelers’ offense will most likely have their way with the Jaguars’ defense and Bortles won’t be able to make the necessary progress in just his second start to keep up against a Dick LeBeau run defense. I’m expecting the Steelers to take the lead early and never look back and for the Jaguars to start the season 0-5.
Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts, Sunday 1PM ET
This game should be one of the better games of the weekend. The Baltimore Ravens have surprised everyone with how well they’ve been playing, especially their offensive line. The Indianapolis Colts have been playing well on offense but their defense has been struggling some. The Colts are coming off a blowout win against Tennessee while the Ravens are coming off a big win against NFC contender Carolina Panthers.
For the Ravens, I see them coming out flat offensively, particularly Steve Smith. He’s been their best skill player on offense and had a huge game against his former team last week. If he has a letdown game against the Colts, you could really see this Ravens offense start to struggle. For the Colts, quarterback Andrew Luck could certainly have a day against the Ravens’ secondary. Their defense has played well so far this season but the weakest part has definitely been their pass coverage. Luck has more than enough arm talent and mobility to exploit this weakness.
This game will most likely be a close one but I ultimately think the Colts win by a field goal. It helps a lot that the game is in Indianapolis.
Houston Texans at Dallas Cowboys, Sunday 1PM ET
The Houston Texans have already eclipsed their win total from last season and will look to increase it even more this week when they go into Dallas to face the Cowboys. The Cowboys are also 3-1 and are coming off a blowout win over the New Orleans Saints.
Surprisingly the Cowboys’ defense has been playing extremely well after statistically being the worst defense in the history of the NFL just last season. They’re playing well enough against the run that it’ll force the Texans to lean on quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick a little more than they’d probably like to. On the other side of the ball the Texans have had a hard time stopping the run and if that continues they’ll have quite a long day trying to stop Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray.
This game is another one that looks to be a close one. The Cowboys are running the ball extremely well this year while the Texans aren’t stopping the run particularly well. This kind of matchup obviously favors the Cowboys a great deal. It also helps that the game is in Dallas, although it’s not quite the same home field advantage most teams have since there will be a lot of Houston fans in attendance considering the proximity of the two cities. I think the Cowboys win this one by a field goal.