The AFC South, 2025 Season

[Colts And Orioles]

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With a little over 12 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, the Jaguars led the Texans by a score of 29-10.




HOUSTON TEXANS lllllllllllllllllll - l. 36

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS llllllt - ,. 29




The Texans outscored the Jaguars 26-0 in those final 12 minutes.

On the final play of the game with the score 30-29, Trevor Lawrence fumbled the ball directly into the hands of Sheldon Rankins, who raced into the end-zone as the clock ran out.

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[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by sherck

Of our final 7 games of the season, four are against division foes (2x Jaguars, 2x Texans).

We take care of business against those teams (which there is zero reason why we cannot win all four games), then we dominate and win the division regardless of what happens in the other three games (KC, SEA, SF).

So, in my view, we have two parts of the remaining part of the season.

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Considering the Colts' incredible 8-2 start to the season, I'm not especially concerned about the head-on games within the division ...... if the Colts win at least 4 more of their remaining games, it doesn't really matter if they come against their AFC South foes or not ...... there is virtually no way that any team within the AFC South will catch the Colts if the Colts finish with a record of at least 12-5 or better. If the Colts finish the season with a record of 12-5, the Jaguars would have to win 7 out of their 8 remaining games to usurp them for the division title, and that would include having to beat the Colts twice in head-on matchups.

This is a rare season in which the Colts (and their fans) fans have the luxury of not getting overly concerned about who their wins come against, as long as those wins come ...... and that is because of their 8-2 start, coupled with the fact that the closest team to them within the division is already 2 and-a-half games behind them.


I agree with your assertion that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best ....... and that will all come out in the post-season wash. The Colts' regular-season game against the Chiefs in Kansas City is not nearly as important as their games (and their opponents) in the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. Because of the fact that the Colts have had half-assed starts to their seasons in the W-L column almost every year since Andrew Luck's retirement, Colts fans were desperately rooting for the team to win each and every game to make up ground for the hole that they put themselves in early, while simultaneously giving frequent glances at the scoreboard to see how other AFC teams were doing, and worrying about tie-breakers, sneaking into the playoffs with the 7th and final seed, etc ....... now we can just relax and watch other teams (and their fans) go bonkers about how the hell they are going to catch the Colts. This 8-2 start is even more luxurious than the solid, 11-5 Philip Rivers season that we had in 2020. We haven't seen the likes of this kind of penthouse football mentality since Peyton Manning's prime.

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[Colts And Orioles]

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(PATRIOTS vs. JETS) ) [November 13th]



The Patriots are not in the AFC South, but they are in the AFC.

The Jets are 2-7, but I think that they are better than their record indicates ...... they lost by 2 points to the Broncos, the Buccaneers, and the Steelers. I think that they are capable of springing an upset tonight, but I wouldn't bet on it.


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[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by YDFL Commish

Perhaps not more importantly, but definitely more impressive, the best record in the AFC ...... I would fathom to guess, that hasn't been the case since 2009.

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News Flash: The Colts Are the AFC’s Best

(By Mike Lopresti)

https://www.journalgazette.net/sport...512c8b2d7.html




INDIANAPOLIS – Here at Indianapolis Colts Pre-Game News Center, it was hard to keep up with all the comings and goings because of injuries Sunday. Lucas Oil Stadium had become a hotbed of news flashes.

This just in. l No Charvarius Ward at cornerback against Arizona. Suffered a concussion when he collided with tight end Drew Ogletree during pre-game warm-up.

This just in. l No Anthony Richardson at backup quarterback either. Suffered an orbital fracture in his eye while working out with an elastic band that snapped in his face. Two Colts down and they hadn’t even played the anthem yet. All the other players could do was regroup, comfort one another, pray. They understand they’re in a dangerous profession, but geez, the pre-game routine was piling up casualties. “It was very interesting to say the least,” coach Shane Steichen would say later. “We had to kind of rally the troops there in the locker room and get us back into focus.”

This just in. l With no Richardson, meet Sunday’s sudden backup quarterback, Notre Dame rookie Riley Leonard, who had run the scout team all week. How could he have come to the stadium Sunday even dreaming he might play ??? “I had no idea. I just heard something bad happened,” he said of Richardson’s injury. “Your first thought is, is he OK ??? That’s my friend.” Leonard said he would have been ready, if needed, though it can’t be easy. “I guess it really doesn’t hit you. until it does. I mean there’s a human nature side to everything. You’re thinking, third-string quarterback, not even active going into the game. The probability (of not playing) starts to get into your mind a little bit, but you just can’t live like that.”

This just in. l Starting for the Cardinals at quarterback, Jacoby Brissett. Yeah, him. The same Jacoby Brissett who once started 30 games for Indianapolis, losing 19 of them. Brissett was to play because Arizona starter Kyler Murray was hurt. Just like he used to come out of the bullpen on this same field for Andrew Luck. Brissett surely wouldn’t cause trouble for his former team, now that the Colts have turned mighty ...... would he ???

This just in. l Never mind all the above. It would come down to the hot new quarterback in town, Daniel Jones, who with considerable help from his offensive friends led Indianapolis on a late game-winning drive to beat the Cardinals 31-27. All those 20-point walks-in-the-park for the Colts lately ??? Not this week. They had to rally three times to get past Arizona and then stop Brissett and the Cardinals once they reached the Indianapolis 9 in the final minutes.

“I think we weathered the storm today,” said cornerback Chris Lammons. Lots of ‘em.

All those routs lately had not been real life in the NFL. Having to pull a game out of the fire is more the accepted practice. Overcoming adversity, even the most unusual kind the Colts faced Sunday. The ability to do that is another rite of passage for a fast-charging contender. “A lot of this league,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said, “is what happened today.”

The offense still hums. The 194 points scored so far are the most after six games in Indianapolis franchise history. Jonathan Taylor remains a fearsome ground forced, rushing for 123 yards Sunday, scoring the winning touchdown. Tyler Warren continues to be a tight end sensation, and Josh Downs made big catches. Meanwhile, the director of this orchestra had to use a lot of his quarterback muscles Sunday.

Jones had to be one of the leaders to restore shaken locker room karma after the pre-game carnage. “Everybody’s looking at Daniel, who’s seen everything,” Leonard said.

He had to be the uber-prepared footballaholic his new team has come to expect, against an opponent that sometimes had its way with the Colts’ defense, Brissett passing for 320 yards. “His preparation that he puts in during the week, when you’re prepared like the way he does you don’t blink,” Steichen said. “He’s just all over it. That’s the preparation, and that’s what you want at that position.”

Steichen mentioned how as late as a Saturday night meeting, Jones was still dissecting plays and testing ideas. Leonard noted that “nobody realizes it, but Daniel’s the first one in every single day and the last one out. You just won’t see it because he’s not a boastful guy.”

And Jones had to produce the saving drive in the fourth quarter, for a team that had been more accustomed to cruise control. “We’ve had games play out different ways this season ... Good to see us be able to execute in that situation,” he said.

The work ethic and time commitment his teammates mentioned are second nature to him. Have been for a while.

“I think you just get better at it and more efficient with it. I think I’ve always spent a lot of time with it. I don’t really do too much besides this stuff. I think you get better and better at what’s important.”

No wonder, as they passed one another at the post-game press conference Steichen looked over at his quarterback and said, “My man. Great job.”

One last new flash. This just in. l The Colts are 5-1 for the first time in 16 years, unbeaten at home, and if the season ended this minute, would be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Who could have imagined that ??? Then again, who could imagine the Indiana Hoosiers ranked No. 3 this week, ahead of every team that has ever won a national championship except for Ohio State and Miami, not to mention the entire SEC ??? Fall of 2025 arrived and this state has suddenly turned into a football wonderland.

The Colts are on a roll, once they can get past the pre-game warm-up.

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[Colts And Orioles]

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(OCTOBER 13th)



Brian Callahan Fired as Titans Head Coach Midway Through 2nd Disappointing, Underwhelming Season

(By Nick Suss)

https://www.tennessean.com/story/spo...s/77257800007/

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[Colts And Orioles]

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LOS ANGELES RAMS llllllllllll. - ll35

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS lllll - ll.7




SIDENOTE: l The Jaguars did not score their first points of the game until there were 9 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter ...... by that time, the Rams were up by a score of 28-0 with a victory well-in-hand.

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[Colts And Orioles]

Originally Posted by Colts And Orioles

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THE COLTS llllllllllllll.. 6-1

THE JAGUARS llllllll.) 4-3

THE TEXANS llllllllll.t, 2-4

THE TITANS lllllllllllll. 1-6

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The Texans Show That They Aren’t Contenders With Mistake-Riddled Loss to Seattle Seahawks

(By Jonathan M. Alexander)

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/spo...e-21109579.php




SEATTLE — The crowd at Lumen Field needed something to cheer for Monday night, especially after what happened just hours earlier.

Around 8 p.m. Pacific time — or 10 p.m. Central — the Seattle Mariners lost the most important game in franchise history to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

They forfeited their best opportunity to make their first World Series appearance.

However, fortunately for them, the Houston Texans helped ease the pain.

After returning from an off week, the Texans crumbled in prime time on Monday Night Football, and lost 27-19 to the Seahawks in one of their most embarrassing performances of the season.

Among the most humiliating moments Monday night included two near-safeties; two failed attempts to score within the Seahawks’ 1-yard line; a first quarter unnecessary-roughness penalty on third down that led to a Seahawks touchdown; and a fourth quarter unnecessary-roughness penalty that helped secure Seattle’s win.

“Today wasn’t a good day for our entire team,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We didn’t play winning football, so you can’t expect to come out with a win when you don’t do the things that winning teams do.”

The Texans had a chance to show where they stood among the NFL’s elite, and how far they had come after a 0-3 start. They dominated the 1-6 Titans and the severely depleted 1-5 Ravens in back-to-back games, outscoring them 70-10.

But in golf, they call it “playing with a handicap.” In pickup basketball, they call that “being spotted points.”

The reality of the situation is that the Texans are currently not a contending team. They fall somewhere on the lower end of the spectrum, in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in three seasons under Ryans if they can’t turn things around.

The dynamic offense Houston showed in its previous two wins was nowhere to be found. Running backs Woody Marks and Nick Chubb combined for 31 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for 229 yards, and a touchdown, but completed less than 50% of his passes.

“I just think we didn’t get a rhythm,” Stroud said. “They did a good job keeping the shell in some of the third-and-shorts. Plays like that, we just got to execute.

“But I think it starts with me and I got to do a better job of distributing the ball better. When I have good pockets, working them and making sure I’m getting the ball out on time and to the right guy.”

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