We have now successfully completed one fourth of the 2014 NFL campaign. Through week four of this young NFL season the AFC South is shaping up to be a competitive battle at the top. The Houston Texans sit at the top of the division with a 3-1 record. The Indianapolis Colts sit in second place with a 2-2 record followed by the Tennessee Titans who sit in third place at 1-3 and the Jacksonville Jaguars who are winless at 0-4.
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans have a 3-1 record due to a resilient team effort last week. The team is coming off a very redeeming 23-17 win over the Buffalo Bills this past week. This happened to be a great comeback win for the Texans. They trailed the Bills 10-0 at one point in the game.
The Texans proceeded to outscore the Bills 23-7 to finish the game and gut out the big time win. Ryan completed 25 out of 37 passes for 268 yards and a touchdown. The big star of the game was J.J. Watt. Watt is considered by many to be the best defender in the NFL. He proved it by dominating in all aspects on the defensive side of the ball. He recorded five tackles, eight hits on the quarterback and a big interception on Bills quarterback E.J. Manuel and returned it for a 80 yard touchdown. This now gives the Texans a three win, one loss record and sole possession of first place in the AFC South.
On Thursday the Houston Texans returned to the practice field to gear up for this Sunday’s Texas Showdown vs. The Dallas Cowboys. This is a pivotal game because a win over the 3-1 Cowboys can put the Texans in the driver’s seat of the AFC South. This game will come down to quarterback play first and foremost. Will Ryan Fitzpatrick be able to outplay Tony Romo? Will Arian Foster be able to outplay DeMarco Murray? Will Andre Johnson be able to outplay Dez Bryant at the wide receiver position? Only time will be able to tell. There are a lot of good individual matchups to watch for this game. This game will come down to one thing ultimately and that is the matchup between Houston’s defensive line and the Cowboys’ offensive line. Whoever wins this war in the trenches should come out on top.
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts come into this week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens with a 2-2 record overall. The Baltimore Ravens come into the game with a 3-1 record overall. The Colts are coming off of a big time 41-17 win over the Tennessee Titans last week. Andrew Luck completed 29 of 41 passes for 393 yards and 4 touchdowns in a dominating MVP like performance. Luck looks to ride that momentum this week a dominating Baltimore Ravens defense.
An interesting back story of this game is that Colts running back Trent Richardson gets a chance to play against the team that has a big time defense. Richardson currently has carried the ball 61 times for a total of 203 yards. He has not quite lived up to the hype that came when he entered the NFL from the University of Alabama. He should have some extra motivation and fire to play well against the team who has one of the top defenses in the NFL. Andrew Luck is looking to hit on all cylinders. He is currently sitting on the top of the NFL as the top passer. With Luck, Richardson, the offense and the Colts defense all playing at a high level they look to get above the .500 mark and get a big time win over an intimidating Baltimore Ravens team.
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans come into week five with a 1-3 record. This week they play against a Cleveland Browns team who has something to prove and is looking to improve to reach the .500 mark. The Browns are currently sitting at 1-2. The Tennessee Titans need to come in focused in order to get this win. This is a must win for this team. Falling to a 1-4 record could be a very tough position to recover from.
The Titans have implemented a new system and Coach Ken Whisenhunt acknowledges that things have been a struggle so far. “New systems, new things, new ways of doing things, we’ve had some not so good games,” Whisenhunt said. “I mean I’m stating the obvious of course, but we’re going to get it going in the right direction. I have every confidence in that.” In order to turn things around it starts Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Players have to step up to the plate and perform and perform big. Jake Locker should be returning to the lineup Sunday. With their quarterback and leader back let’s see if they can get the win.
Jacksonville Jaguars
This season has been an absolute struggle for the Jacksonville Jaguars. This franchise is just having a hard time winning games. They currently sit at last place in the AFC South at 0-4. This week they play the 2-2 Pittsburgh Steelers. This will be a tough one for the Jaguars to win. Chad Henne and Toby Gearhart need to have big time games for this team to have a chance this week. A big story is Ziggy Hood playing against his former team of the past five years, the Steelers. He was pretty calm about the upcoming matchup saying, “I’m sure there are going to be some guys out there with a chip on their shoulders about me being there. But I am just going to go out there and give it my all just like any other game.” Let’s see if the Jags can go out there and get their first win of the season.
