The Tennessee Titans are officially in deep trouble after falling out of first place in the AFC South thanks to a Week 16 loss to the Houston Texans.
Tennessee’s once-comfortable lead is now completely gone thanks to their five-game losing streak, coupled with the Jacksonville Jaguars hitting their stride at the right time.
Jacksonville has won three straight and four of five after dropping the New York Jets, 19-3.
While these two teams have the same record, Jacksonville currently owns the head-to-head tie-breaker over Tennessee, which puts the Jags in first place for now.
- Jacksonville Jaguars (7-8)
- Tennessee Titans (7-8)
- Indianapolis Colts (4-9-1)
- Houston Texans (2-12-1)
Even if the Titans somehow beat the Dallas Cowboys and the Jaguars lose to the Texans in Week 17, Tennessee and Jacksonville will still be on a crash course for a winner-take-all Week 18 showdown in Duval.
As for the Colts, who were preseason favorites to win the AFC South, all they can do now is play spoiler for the final games of the season, as they’ve been officially eliminated from playoff contention.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Titans approach what is a meaningless Week 17 game in terms of playoff implications.
The Titans could definitely use a victory to stop their skid and gain a head of steam going into Week 18, but they also might want to play their key players sparingly in order to avoid anymore injuries.
