AFC South Season Preview and Predictions

by Jake Lax, August 28, 2025

The AFC South is going to be one of the worst divisions in football; there’s no way around it. The Tennessee Titans, who finished with the worst record in football last year, picked quarterback Cam Ward from Miami first overall. The Jacksonville Jaguars finished last season at 4-13, just one win above the Titans’ 3-14 record. The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a losing season (8-9) and continue to struggle at the quarterback position. The AFC South winner last season was the Houston Texans, who took a win in the wild card, only to lose to the Chiefs in the divisional round. The outlook for this division is not looking great for 2025. I don’t expect multiple teams to make the playoffs; however, one team must get in via division winner.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans are my pick to finish last in the division, as I have them only winning four games this year, to finish with a 4-13 season. Second-year head coach Brian Callahan isn’t expected to make too much progress with this team, as they are still very much deep into rebuilding the roster. He should, however, help develop first overall pick Cam Ward into Tennessee’s franchise quarterback. Callahan has worked with standout quarterbacks in the past, such as Peyton Manning, Joe Burrow, and Matthew Stafford, so it should come as no surprise if he’s able to help Ward reach his rookie year potential.

This offseason saw the Titans look to bolster their offensive line for their rookie quarterback. They signed left tackle Dan Moore Jr. to a big four-year, $82 million deal and former Pro Bowl right guard Kevin Zeitler to a one-year deal. The defense brought in linebacker Cody Barton and veteran safety Xavier Woods. The defense will need all the help it can get, as teams ran the ball all over them last season, finishing with the 26th rushing defense.

Cam Ward will run the show on offense, giving Titans fans hope for this new season. Ward claims the Titans have a “top five receiving corps in the NFL,” which I believe to be far from the truth. The starting wide receivers for the Titans will be Calvin Ridley, Tyler Lockett, and Van Jefferson. I don’t see any of these guys having a huge season, but I fully expect Ridley to eclipse 1,000 yards and Tyler Lockett to be close, as this is a team that will be forced to play from behind. The running back position is headlined by Tony Pollard, with backup Tyjae Spears, who is expected to miss a couple of weeks to start the season with an ankle injury. Pollard had a good first season with Tennessee last year, rushing for 1,079 yards and five touchdowns. Pollard should be a good fantasy football pickup for the beginning of the season as Spears will be forced to miss some time. This offense will live on the first-year production from Cam Ward. While there will be growing pains, I believe the Titans got their guy with Ward.

The Tennessee defense is going to have to improve. They are led by three-time Pro Bowler Jeffery Simmons on the defensive line, which will have to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Last season, the Titans ranked 29th in pressure rate and 22nd in sacks. The secondary is very solid, led by top-tier cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and solid safeties such as Amani Hooker, Quandre Diggs, and Xavier Woods. They should be very solid in the pass protection game entering 2025.

In the battle for the AFC South, the Titans will be almost non-existent in 2025. The four wins I have them picking up this season are against the Patriots, Jaguars, Browns, and Saints. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were able to beat Indianapolis in week three in Nashville. In terms of a successful season for Tennessee, they just need to see a good rookie season from Cam Ward and growth around him, which I can easily see happening.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars are my pick to finish third in the AFC South this year. I see them going 6-11, picking up wins against the Panthers, Seahawks, Raiders, Colts, Jets, and Titans. After finishing last season 4-13, it was time for a coaching change in Jacksonville. The Jaguars fired former Super Bowl champion head coach Doug Pederson and replaced him with former Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen. Coen was able to bring the best out of Tampa Bay’s offense and hopes to do the same with a struggling Jaguars team.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence enters his fifth year, hoping to jump into the elite category with some of the game’s best play callers. Lawrence’s career has been inconsistent up to this point, after coming into the league with sky-high expectations, being drafted first overall in 2021. His season high touchdowns is 25, which came in his sophomore season in the NFL. This year, Lawrence has some of the best weapons he’s had thus far in his career. One of these weapons is wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr., who enters his second season after a phenomenal rookie campaign, posting 1,282 yards along with 10 touchdowns. The Jaguars have high expectations for the LSU alum in 2025. Along with Thomas Jr is the second overall pick from this year’s draft and Heisman Trophy winner, Travis Hunter. Hunter was phenomenal in college, playing on both sides of the ball and making his presence known. The Jaguars are hoping to play him on both sides of the ball this season, while it may seem crazy for him to play both sides of the ball, Hunter is an athletic freak and is someone I believe can make it work. The offense features two very solid running backs in Travis Etienne Jr and Tank Bigsby, both will share the workload in hopes of bringing a much-needed rushing attack to this Jaguars team.

Jacksonville has one of the best defensive lines in all of football, they are led by their edge threats in Josh Hines-Allen and former first overall pick Travon Walker. Last season the two of them combined for 18.5 sacks, terrorizing quarterbacks. The line is rounded out with veteran Arik Armstead, who was rather quiet in his first season for the Jags. The health on the defensive side remains a big concern for Jacksonville. If they can keep their starters on the field, there is a good chance this defense improves and helps the Jags compete in these close AFC South games.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts’ preseason quarterback battle was one of the most intriguing offseason stories, as they brought in Daniel Jones to compete with third-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Richardson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 draft but has failed to be consistent in his first two seasons, which resulted in the Colts bringing in Jones to compete for the job. Between injuries and a lack of improvement, Richardson has had question marks around him for his whole career thus far. This led to a hard decision for head coach Shane Steichen to make, ultimately sticking with the more experienced Daniel Jones.

Jones will lead an offense that needs a strong passing game. The wide receiver talent and depth is there for Indianapolis. They’ve got their number one wide receiver in Michael Pittman Jr, who has survived the Colts quarterback carousel for the past five years, still putting up impressive numbers. Behind Pittman, the Colts have youngsters Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, and Adonai Mitchell. Downs made a big jump last year recording 803 yards and 5 touchdowns. I expect Downs and Mitchell to have great years, as Daniel Jones strays away from deep routes and prefers going into the shorter routes closer to the sidelines. The Colts first round pick tight end Tyler Warren is expected to have a great rookie year and carries a lot of potential with him. Warren, coming out of Penn State, has all the tools to be a top five tight end in his rookie season. The running game is led by Jonathan Taylor, who has been great for the Colts ever since being drafted in 2020. He runs behind one of the best offensive lines in the league, headlined by All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson and tackles Bernhard Raimann and Braden Smith.

The Colts brought in new defensive coordinator, Lou Anarumo, from the Cincinnati Bengals. Anarumo will replace former coordinator Gus Bradley, who gave up a ton of rushing yards last year. The defensive line is anchored by DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, two big bodies that they hope can stuff the gaps and attack quarterbacks. On the edge the Colts added JT Tuimoloau in the second round of the draft to bring pressure with Laiatu Latu and Kwity Paye. Zaire Franklin is the heart of the defense at middle linebacker. Franklin is expected to follow up on his big year last year as he totaled 93 solo tackles, tied for third in the NFL. Outside of the box, Indianapolis brought in cornerback Charvarius Ward, who was a Pro Bowler in 2023. Ward joins the very talented slot corner Kenny Moore, who has been a staple of the Colts defense over the past couple of seasons.

For head coach Shane Steichen and GM Chris Ballard to keep their jobs, I think Indianapolis needs to win at least nine games. While it’s very possible, I just don’t see the Colts making the playoffs coming one to two games short. Their schedule is very winnable however, I see the Colts finishing at 8-9 and start a complete overhaul during the next offseason.

Houston Texans

The Houston Texans are coming off an AFC South title last year, and I see no reason why they can’t three-peat as the top team in the division. The whole rebuild has been a huge success since drafting quarterback C.J. Stroud and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. in 2023. Head Coach DeMeco Ryans was able to position the Texans into the playoffs again, this time coming one game away from the AFC championship game.

C.J. Stroud leads a good offense who will face a lot of difficult defenses in 2025. Last season wide receiver Nico Collins emerged as a true number one receiver totaling over 1,000 yards and 7 touchdowns. The Texans picked up Jayden Higgins in the second round of the draft this year to compliment Collins. The tight end position will be held down by Dalton Schultz and Harrison Bryant. While the Texans have pass catchers, they aren’t very elite outside of Collins. The running game is wide open after the ankle injury to Joe Mixon. This gives chance to veteran running back Nick Chubb, who the Texans brought in this offseason, and Dameon Pierce, who should be competing for the starting role. If Nick Chubb can come close to his prior form this running game shouldn’t be too much of a concern. However, injuries have derailed Chubb, someone who all football fans want to succeed. This is a good offense overall and depends the most on what version of C.J. Stroud we get, the 2023 rookie sensation or the 2024 struggling sophomore Stroud.

On defense, DeMeco Ryans has instilled the same toughness and discipline he showed as a player. Last year, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter man the line combining for 23 sacks. It’s a crazy pass rushing duo who forces fear into opposing quarterbacks. The Texans also have one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in Derek Stingley Jr. who totaled 5 interceptions in the past two seasons and earned himself an All-Pro nod last season. Outside of their stars the Texan’s defense is young and should see some struggles, especially with the opponents on their schedule.

The Texans have all the tools to make the playoffs and I fully expect them to, however, their schedule is rather tough. Houston plays seven teams that made the playoffs last season and most of the best in the league. With a difficult schedule I see the Texans reaching the playoffs only by way of the AFC South title. They’ll have a chance to host a playoff game, but I think a first-round exit to go along with an 11-6 record is in the cards for the Texans this year.