The Houston Texans have won the AFC South in successive years, but they know they really need to make some huge strides on offense in order to become a legitimate threat to win the Super Bowl. Houston is a part of the toughest division in the NFL to try to handicap, but we don't see a reason why this team shouldn't be considered the best in this division to kick off 2017.
AFC South Odds at BookMaker.eu
Houston Texans +200
Tennessee Titans +200
Indianapolis Colts +300
Jacksonville Jaguars +425
Why the Houston Texans Will Win the AFC South
It's all about the Houston defense. This team ranked No. 1 in the league in total defense at 301.3 yards per game allowed last year, that was without J.J. Watt playing for most of the season.
Watt is back, and he promises to return as one of the top defensive players in the NFL. This should be the first season in which Watt and Jadeveon Clowney wreak havoc together. D.J. Reader was always looked upon as the future at nose tackle, and there are high hopes for him in 2017. Keep in mind that this linebacking corps is at an elite level as well, even though there is a hole at the second outside linebacker spot opposite of Whitney Mercilus.
There's also reason to believe that this offense will be better in 2017. Tom Savage wasn't the best quarterback on the roster last season, but he's as good as it gets this year, at least at the outset. Savage, if nothing else, really keyed in on DeAndre Hopkins, and getting Nuk more involved in the offense can only help.
Let's also remember that at some point, Deshaun Watson should take over as the starting quarterback for this team, perhaps as soon as Week 1. When Watson takes over, he'll immediately be the most talented quarterback this franchise has ever had.
Why the Houston Texans Won't Win the AFC South
The rest of the AFC South is really catching up to the Texans. The Colts seem like they have the best roster around Andrew Luck they've had in years, and the Titans were the "it" team in the division last year. Had Marcus Mariota not gotten hurt at the end of the season, there's a good chance Tennessee would have won the division and left the Texans out of the playoffs.
The biggest concern Houston has on the field is obviously going to be its offense. The team isn't going to get any worse than it was last season when it ranked No. 29 in total offense, No. 29 in passing and No. 29 in scoring. There was only one game all season long in which the Texans scored three offensive touchdowns. They tallied just 23 offensive touchdowns for the season.
The Brock Osweiler experiment was a disaster, but Savage couldn't beat him out for most of the season. Savage started two games and went just 46-of-73 for 461 yards. Sure, he didn't throw a pick in that span, but Savage has the same number of career touchdown passes as Watson does right now. That's saying something for a fourth year pro.
The offensive line problems were never really addressed in Houston this year. With Duane Brown holding out, this depth chart looks awful right now. Xavier Su'a-Filo has never evolved into a franchise guard as was expected to be the case when he was a second round draft pick a couple seasons ago, and bringing in Jeff Allen and Chris Clark wasn't difference-making either.
That means whomever is under center is going to have to be fast to get the ball out of his hands. Lamar Miller had a nice first season in Houston, but he needs some more help for sure. Miller touched the ball 299 times in 14 games last season. That might be fine and dandy, but how many seasons can a man average 20+ touches per game effectively?
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