Second Win For Texans Gives Big Lift To Fellow AFC South Foe

The playoffs had to be the furthest thing from the mind of the Jacksonville Jaguars after starting out 2-6.

Fast forward eight weeks and the Jaguars are not only squarely in the playoff picture, but they currently are in first place in the AFC South.

And Jacksonville can sure thank the Houston Texans for helping make the latter possible.

Houston notched just its second win of the season Saturday by beating the Tennessee Titans, 19-14, which elevated the Jaguars, who earned a 19-3 road win over the New York Jets on Thursday, to the top spot in the division. The Jaguars and Titans both own a 7-8 record, but Jacksonville owns the tie-breaker due to a Week 14 win over Tennessee.

Jacksonville is now in line for a playoff berth, which seems more and more likely to happen given that Titans starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is dealing with an injury and didn’t play in the loss to the Texans.

The Jaguars control their own destiny, and if they can win out with two games remaining, including a Week 18 showdown with the Titans that could decide the division, they could actually host a playoff game.

Despite the terrible start, bettors are going to hope they hung onto any tickets for the Jaguars to win the AFC South. Jacksonville has seen its odds improve dramatically since the start of the season as they had +750 odds in August to take the divisional crown, and as of 5:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, they have -210 odds to be AFC South champs, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

So, it seems it’s too late for bettors to jump on the Jaguars bandwagon.