Despite Opening Night Loss, Texans Aren’t Alone In AFC South Basement Yet

Despite losing two straight games to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, your Houston Texans are still not sitting at the bottom of the AFC South. How can this be, you ask? Well, look no further than the Jacksonville Jaguars crazy upset of the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, to the tune of 27-20.

With Philip Rivers now calling the shots under center for the Colts, many believed they would immediately become the class of the division, while almost everyone dismissed the Jaguars as one of, if not the, worst teams in the NFL for 2020.

However, apparently the Jaguars didn’t get the memo and, despite Rivers throwing for Peyton Manning-esque 363 yards, the Gardner Minschew led Jaguars stole a win.

Why is this good news for Houston fans? Tie-breakers are life if you’ve lost (again) to the Chiefs, but your division rival loses to another division opponent.

Right now, the Jaguars sit alone atop the AFC South at 1-0, and they will remain there no matter the outcome of Monday night’s Tennessee Titans vs Denver Broncos matchup. Even if the Titans win, which we hope they don’t, they will still lose the tie-breaker with the Jags since they beat a division opponent.

Thankfully, this same thing applies to the Colts and Texans, leaving Indy at the bottom of the division rankings since they lost to the Jags, but Houston lost to a non-division opponent.

Now, if Bill O’Brien, Deshaun Watson, J.J. Watt and company can do something to slow down and overcome Lamar Jackson and the high flying Baltimore Ravens next weekend, and the Minnesota Vikings can whoop the Colts, Houston will distance themselves further from the moldy, dank basement of AFC South disappointment.

In order to do this, Bill O’Brien, Tim Kelly and the rest of the Texans offensive braintrust need to figure out how to put points on the board in big chunks this week, because they won’t get a win in a low-scoring, clock-eating, A-gap running attack.

Despite David Johnson’s solid premiere, Houston must take advantage of the passing attack featuring Will Fuller, Kenny Stills, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb if they hope to keep up with the Ravens.