The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South title for the second straight season on Sunday by beating the Miami Dolphins, 20-12, and the Colts lost to the Denver Broncos. The Colts haven’t won the division since 2014.
The Texans were the only AFC South team to win in Week 15, with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans losing to the New York Jets and Cincinnati Bengals, respectively. The Jaguars and Titans are now both 3-11 this season.
Texans defense plays big role in helping clinch AFC South title
For the second time in as many seasons, the Texans are AFC South champions. Head coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback CJ Stroud joined the organization at the same time, in 2023, and have now led the Texans to their eighth division title. This is the third time in franchise history that the Texans have won consecutive division titles.
“Today we took another step forward,” Stroud said said. “Playing for the division so early in December is pretty cool.”
In Houston’s 20-12 win over the Dolphins at NRG Stadium, Stroud completed 18 of 26 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, finishing with a passer rating of 106.4. Wide receiver Nico Collins received both touchdown passes and finished with four receptions for 17 yards.
It was the Texans’ defense that ultimately won the game on Sunday, forcing four Dolphins turnovers at crucial times throughout the game. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was intercepted three times and sacked three times; the Dolphins had four turnovers in total.
In the second quarter, defensive end Will Anderson Jr. picked off Tagovailoa and Houston recovered the fumble to score its first touchdown of the day a few plays later to take a 10-3 lead. Tagovailoa’s first interception came late in the second quarter, resulting in a Texans field goal after rookie safety Calen Bullock caught a pass and ran 68 yards to the Miami 5-yard line.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Texans led 20-12, but the Dolphins wouldn’t go quietly, keeping Stroud and his offense in check. So, cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. stepped up. With two interceptions in the fourth quarter, and his the second Depriving the Dolphins of one last chance at a potential game-winning drive with less than two minutes remaining, Stingley sealed the game for the Texans.
“Defensively, our guys stepped up and did a really good job of finishing the game the way we needed to,” Ryans said. “Stingley is playing incredible football right now. Asking him to cover, to run coverage, to go for picks against a really good offense, that was huge for us.”
“That’s who we are as a defense,” Anderson said. “We talk about swarm mentality. That’s what we have to do every Sunday. Every time we touch the field, we have to swarm and take the ball away.”
The Texans face the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Titans to close out the regular season.
Jaguars fall to Jets despite rookie WR’s career day
The Jaguars did almost enough to beat Aaron Rodgers and the Jets on Sunday at EverBank Stadium. They fought, they scored, they played – but only for three quarters. In the fourth quarter, the Jets scored 15 points and Jaguars quarterback Mac Jones threw an interception on what was his last chance to lead a game-winning drive.
“They made some plays that we didn’t make, and that’s unfortunate,” head coach Doug Pederson said. said after the 32-25 defeat.
“We didn’t perform well in some areas, and that’s why we’re in the loser column,” center Mitch Morse said. “We’ll find out. I love the guys’ fight and all we can do is keep fighting for the next three weeks.”
The biggest play the Jets made that the Jaguars couldn’t make was the biggest. Rodgers connected with wide receiver Davante Adams for a 71-yard touchdown with 3:34 left in the fourth quarter, and the ensuing two-point conversion gave the Jets a 25-22 lead. The Jaguars responded with a field goal to tie it, but Rodgers led another touchdown drive – with a 23-yard pass to Adams – for the Jets’ fourth touchdown of the day.
Jones took the Jaguars to the Jets’ 47-yard line on their final possession, but threw a deep pass easily caught by Sauce Gardner to lose the game.
“You watch NFL football — there are plays that are made and plays that aren’t,” Jones said. “As a quarterback, you want to take the game to the fourth quarter. We did that last week [in a 10-6 victory over the Tennessee Titans] and I got there and I won. This week we didn’t do it, and it’s my fault.”
Jones finished 31 of 46 with 294 yards and two touchdowns, but with two costly interceptions. Receiver Brian Thomas Jr. had a career day with 10 receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough. Thomas, with 64 receptions for 956 yards and eight touchdowns, now holds the Jaguars’ single-season records for touchdown receptions and receiving yards.
“He’s a good young receiver who’s going to continue to improve,” Pederson said. “He had a heck of a season for a rookie wide receiver – not just here in Jacksonville, but in the NFL. I think there’s more to it. As he continues to grow and learn, he can get better .”
The Colts face the Jaguars in the final week of the regular season; Thomas had five receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown in the first meeting between the two teams in October.
Will Levis benched midway through Titans’ loss to Bengals
With seven minutes and 24 seconds left in the third quarter at Nissan Stadium, Titans quarterback Will Levis had completed eight of 12 passes for 89 yards. He had a fumble that gave the ball back to the Bengals — and resulted in a touchdown — and three interceptions, the most recent returning for a Bengals touchdown to give Cincinnati a 31-14 lead. It was the fourth pick six Levis threw this season.
It was the nail in the coffin for Lévis, as backup quarterback Mason Rudolph arrived on the next possession to applause from the home Titans crowd. Rudolph did his best to lead a comeback, completing 21 of 26 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns (with one interception), but the Titans ultimately suffered a 37-27 loss.
Head coach Brian Callahan did not say who the starting quarterback would be.
“I’m not going to make any definitive statement one way or the other,” he said. said. “We just have to make sure we can correct what we saw on tape and where we had a tough day for (Lévis). And again, sometimes these things happen when you have a tough day and you have to sit down. So I won’t make any statement about it.”
The Titans defense struggled throughout the game, as Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow threw for 271 yards and three touchdowns; the Bengals scored on three straight possessions in the second quarter to take a 24-14 halftime lead.
“It’s tough,” Arden Key said. “We have a lot of guys who care about the game, who care about their last name, who care about what people say about us.”
“I thought it was going to be back and forth throughout the game and we were going to have to do a good job,” Callahan said. “And ultimately, against a team like that, you just can’t turn things around. And that’s where it got away from us.”
The Titans finished the game with six turnovers to the Bengals’ four. Four of Tennessee’s turnovers resulted in a Bengals score, while only one of the Bengals’ turnovers resulted in points for the Titans.
The Colts face the Titans this Sunday.
