Are the AFC South’s Favorites Back?

David Garrard - Courtesty Marc Serota/Getty Images

Looking at the AFC South five weeks into the season, it was easy to point out that the division was in a state of disarray. After the weekend’s slate of games, however, I think it’s fair to now consider the division in a state of rebound.

Consider the Indianapolis Colts. The Manning-led offense was sputtering and the defense couldn’t stop the run to save itself. But this weekend against the Ravens, following last weekend’s late victory over the Houston Texans, the Colts and Manning flexed their muscles on both sides of the football. Manning was looking more like his usual self, and he finished the day with 271 passing yards, three touchdowns, and, for just the second time this season, zero interceptions.

Just as important, however, the defense stepped up its game this week. The Ravens fell behind early and were forced to abandon the running game, which, I should note, finished the day with 51 yards on 19 attempts (2.7 yards per carry). Flacco looked like a rookie, throwing three interceptions, while the Ravens offense failed to score a touchdown.

For the first time this season the Colts looked like they should: they had more talent on the field than Baltimore and they showed it. And remember, this is a Baltimore defense that had allowed three touchdowns in its previous four games; Indy scored that many in the first half.

The Jacksonville Jaguars, meanwhile, spent the day taking down the Denver Broncos in a relatively close game. Denver, which appeared to lose a step on offense in the past couple weeks, favored a balanced approach in this game and it earned Michael Pittman his first 100-yard game of the season. Perhaps most surprising about this loss is that it was the first time this season the Broncos field a 100-yard rusher; incidentally, Selvin Young was injured and he did not play in the game.

In any event, the Jaguars defeated Denver 24-17 in a game in which turnovers helped Jacksonville immensely. In the first half, the Broncos turned the ball over three times, and the Jaguars led, with momentum, 10-7 at halftime. David Garrard threw the football a lot this week (38 attempts), but didn’t make any costly mistakes with it; he finished with 276 yards and 1 touchdown. Maurice Jones-Drew, meanwhile, was the favored back, as he rushed for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns, handling 22 of Jacksonville’s backs’ 26 rush attempts.

But the key here was the defense and the turnovers. Jay Cutler, who had three 300-yard games going into this week, finished with just 192 passing yards and threw his fifth interception of the season. His yards per attempt average - 5.2 - was also a season low, and the Broncos were kept from reclaiming the lead late in the game.

This was Jacksonville’s third victory in the past four weeks, their only loss coming at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers week five. But even in that game the Jaguars remained competitive; this is a team that is looking stronger each and every week of the seaon.

Remember, these were two of the AFC’s best teams last season, each making the postseason before falling short of the AFC title game. They had a bit of a postseason hangover going into the season - with the added pressure on David Garrard and the Jaguars defense and the injuries Indianapolis has dealt with, for the most part, quite well - and though the two may be a bit back in the division (Tennessee: 5-0; Indianapolis: 3-2; Jacksonville: 3-3), I believe this is a case where the leader of the South cannot afford to lose a step.

Tennessee, watch out; they’re back.