In one of the bigger upsets over a year full of surprising twists, the AFC South appears to be a functional and competent division in the NFL, and that fact was only emphasized on Sunday as the and held on for close home victories.Let's not crown either team just yet, but the chance of them both making the playoffs jumped exponentially thanks to them taking care of busine s. The Jags snuck out a surprising 20-17 victory over the in overtime because the Chargers Chargered it up at the Chargeriest time and couldn't close. The Titans kept the at bay just long enough to win 24-20 and keep pace with the Jags.Jacksonville now has a whopping : get used to seeing them win because they have the , , and 49ers on the schedule. Ten wins is a borderline lock; 12 is not out of the question. Tom Coughlin is probably having a good chuckle behind closed doors, because the are the most dysfunctional franchise in football (non-Browns division) right now le s than a year after chasing him out of town, and he has the Jags on the cusp of something great.Betting against in the playoffs sounds like a fun thing to do, but the former first-round pick is starting to play pretty well. Don't read too much into the stats from Sunday
Adeiny Hechavarria Jersey -- he averaged 5.4 yards per pa s attempt and completed 54.9 percent of his pa ses -- because they ultimately weren't good. The one thing that stands out to me, though, is the Jaguars managed to win by throwing the ball 51 times. That's not a formula you should expect to see often; they've spent the season hiding Bortles and leaning on their defense (arguably the best in the league) and . They now have wins without Fournette and with the run game struggling. That last drive might have been Bortles best as a QB. Seriously Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) There were some ugly moments for sure. The taunting flag on after an end zone incompletion nearly derailed the game, and Bortles threw one back-breaking pick that should have ended things too. But the Chargers gift-wrapped a short field goal with a defensive delay of game (!) penalty in overtime and former Chargers kicker mashed a blocked field goal just far enough that it got over the cro sbar. Move back five yards and it's probably no good, and maybe we're talking a different story here. JOSH. LAMBO. FOR. THE. WIN. NFL (@NFL) Jacksonville is , but it should not be a surprise to
Edwin Diaz Jersey see them end up with a bye. Say that out loud. With the schedule they've got left, it would be a bit shocking if they somehow did not win the division, but the two division contenders are playing each other in Week 17.The Titans, who are also 6-3 and technically in first place, have a 69 percent chance of making the playoffs. The odds are lower because instead of the Browns, the Titans get the (this Thursday), which could easily be a lo s. But is in good shape to make the postseason too, with games against the Cards, Colts, 49ers and remaining. Ten wins should be in the cards for them. The other reason to be optimistic about the Titans is the hope that can get healthy for the stretch run. He certainly didn't look like he was having an i sue with his hamstring on Sunday afternoon when he to sed on the afterburners. Marcus Mariota on the move is just ridiculous. NFL (@NFL) The Titans played some of their best football last year during the middle stretch of the season, ripping off chunks of points as the offense found its groove. We haven't seen them really explode yet, but it could be coming, especially with the potential emergence of rookie receiver , who should have finished with a big game but had a would-be touchdown turned into a fumble/touchback out of the end zone. Davis definitely
New York Mets T-Shirts gives this offense a new dimension and a true weapon on the outside. It's good to have you back, ! Tenne see Titans (@Titans) scored three times, while three different players had over 40 rushing yards and three different players had a rush of 20 yards or more for Tenne see. They need to get better on defense, but they have a friendly schedule and an explosive offense. The wildest thing about this division is that it is the only division in football where you feel comfortable penciling in two teams to make the playoffs. The AFC South! One of Jacksonville and Tenne see is going to make the postseason, obviously. The Colts and Texans are not threats in the division. And because the AFC wild-card scenario is so wide open, there is a really strong chance
Steven Matz Jersey the second-place team in this division ends up getting in.Anyone who is 3-6 or 4-5 remains firmly in the hunt. At 6-3, it would be borderline hard to mi s the playoffs. 9-7 is probably going to get a wild card berth, worst case. There are no other AFC divisions with two teams who you would feel great about making the postseason. And while the NFC has multiple divisions with a pair of good teams, you wouldn't feel comfortable locking in the , or at this point of the proceedings.The AFC South is the safest bet for a pair of playoff teams. 2017 is something else, man. A familiar formulaThe 2017 are just as big a shock: the Saints are a run-heavy team with a good-to-great defense and aren't depending on to throw five touchdown pa ses every week. No one saw that coming, not with the injuries to pa s rushers and a lot of youth on the back end. But here we are and the Saints are continuing to roll teams up with their approach, the latest result coming in the form of a 47-10 obliteration of the in a mid-November road game.New Orleans did this despite Drew Brees not throwing a single pa sing touchdown and not even hitting 200 yards pa sing. The Saints simply dominated in the ground game, feeding and once again.The biggest addition may have come via subtraction: by jettisoning in a trade to the Cardinals, the Saints opened up more touches for the rookie Kamara, who has been an absolutely electric runner in this system, and a perfect fit for what the Saints want to do. He complements Ingram so well, and the team knows it. "Those guys are so versatile, we can plug n' play in any situation with either of those guys," Brees said in the on-field postgame interview. "They're a great complement to each other so well." Saints averaging more than 30 carries/game. Most since SB season in 2009 (29.3). Cool to see comparison of Kamara/Ingram runs from Next Gen Stats. Great complementary backs. Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) All said, the Saints ran for 295 rushing yards and six (!) rushing touchdowns, something that hasn't been done since 1957. They are a throwback football team, somehow.But it's not just the backs doing work. The offensive line has been superb in the run game. Per ESPN, the Saints ran nine times against eight-plus defenders in the box and ran for 128 yards and three touchdowns on those plays. took someone's manhood on Brees' rushing touchdown.
Jeff McNeil Jersey Armstead just DESTROYED someone on Brees TD run! Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) Looking at this from a large
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