AFC South Week 9 Recap
As Week 9 came to an end, the AFC South Division saw action on both sides of the ball from shootouts on offense to trench play on defense. The final stretch of the season will prove which teams have a chance at the playoffs or packing their bags up and preparing for next season. With the Jacksonville Jaguars on a bye week, three of the four AFC South teams were in play during Week 9.
Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Tennessee Titans 16
Photo Credit: Benjamin B. Braun
On a Thursday Night primetime game, the Tennessee Titans walked out of Pittsburgh with a loss handed to them by the Steelers. The offense had a rough second half of the game as they managed to score just three points and had a chance to win the game on the final drive, but quarterback Will Levis's second career start ended on a game-clinching interception late in the fourth quarter to let the Pittsburgh Steelers pick up the win.
On the night Levis threw for 22 of 39 for 262 yards and the late-game interception. On the ground which was led by running back Derrick Henry who averaged 4.4 yards per carry and had 17 attempts to finish with 75 yards and a touchdown to add to his night. The leading pass catcher of the night was wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins who finished with 4 receptions for 60 yards but did have the most targets on the team with 11. On the other side of the ball, the Titans’ defense played tough all night to keep the Titans’ offense in the game.
The real killer was Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson, who caught 7 of his 9 targets for 90 yards and sealed the win for the Steelers with a touchdown to turn the Steelers to 5-3 on the year. Although the Titans fall to 3-5, the hope that Levis is the real deal should be brought up as he has shown flashes of being able to compete at this level.
Houston Texans 39, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 37
Photo Credit: Brett Coomer
In a shootout finish, the Houston Texans defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 39-37 on a historic day for rookie quarterback CJ Stroud.
With being down by four with a minute to left in the game he had the confidence to lead his team by a win the game. Stroud on the day finished with five touchdowns on the day and a rookie record of 470 yards in the air in a crazy finish to a game. With just a little less than 50 seconds left in the game quarterback Baker Mayfield found his tight end Cade Otton for a 14-yard touchdown, which many thought would have got the job done for the Buccaneers.
It didn’t stop the Texans and Stroud from storming down the field and wide receiver Tank Dell who finished the game with 114 yards was found in the end zone with just 6 seconds left to give the Texans the lead. The Buccaneers had one last chance but fumbled the football and gave the Texans a win and they improved to 4-4 on the year and still alive in the playoff mix.
Indianapolis Colts 27, Carolina Panthers 13
Photo Credit: Jenna Watson
In a very one-sided game most of the way, the Indianapolis Colts went to Carolina to face the Panthers and handled business to improve to 4-5 on the year.
Their offense was led by quarterback Gardner Minshew who had a decent day in the passing attack. He finished with 17 of 26 passing attempts for 127 yards. The lone touchdown for the offense was running back Jonathan Taylor who has been playing at a really high level since returning to action.
The big action for the Colts came on the defensive side of the ball. Cornerback Kenny Moore II finished the day with 8 tackles and not just one but two pick-sixes against rookie quarterback Bryce Young who looked lost all afternoon and could never figure it out as he finished his day with three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 48.6.
If the Colts want to stay in the playoff race, then they are going to have to figure out different ways to win football games, and the defense came up big in a blowout win against the Carolina Panthers.
AFC South STANDINGS
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
Houston Texans (4-4)
Indianapolis Colts (4-5)
Tennessee Titans (3-5)