As the final stretch of the regular season approaches, the race in the AFC South is tightening – making the Colts' remaining games against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans even more important. The Colts dropped to 8-3 with their overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and still remain in first place in the division, but both the Jaguars and Texans are right behind them following their Week 12 wins.
The Texans notched a statement win over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, while the Jaguars squeezed out an overtime win against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. The Tennessee Titans, meanwhile, fell short against the Seattle Seahawks, losing their 10th game of the season.
Titans unable to mount comeback vs. Seahawks
The Titans dropped to 1-10 on Sunday as their late-game comeback efforts weren't quite enough to get the job done, losing to the Seahawks 30-24. They struggled on both sides of the ball in the first half, allowing five straight Seahawks scoring drives while only recording four of their own offensive possessions.
Chimere Dike sparked a revival with his 90-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter, and quarterback Cam Ward would go on to lead two more touchdown drives to narrow the score, but the Titans ultimately fell just short of what would have been a highly impressive comeback against one of the top teams in the league.
"The only thing that matters is a win or a loss," Ward said postgame. "It's a loss, and we have to continue to try and win games to dig ourselves out of the hole that we're in. At the end of the day, we get better every week, and we have to emphasize getting better now, getting better faster. And that starts tomorrow."
Ward finished the game 28-of-24 for 256 yards and one touchdown, and he also led the team with 37 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold was 16-of-26 for 244 yards and two touchdowns – both to wide receiver Jackson Smith-Njigba, who had eight receptions for 167 yards.
The Seahawks offense dominated for much of the game, netting 353 total yards and averaging 7.5 yards per play, while the Titans recorded 296 total yards at 4.4 yards per play. Both teams struggled with penalties, as the Seahawks had 11 for 69 yards and the Titans had 10 for 63.
"I just love the way the guys compete," interim coach Mike McCoy said. "They just keep going. They fight their tails off. It's been that way the entire time, the way they work, the week of preparation, the little details, the fine focus they had in practice this week.
"We've got to find a way to make more plays consistently and not hurt ourselves at certain times of the game like the second series. The first drive of the game, that's a phenomenal way to start against a really good defense, the plays that we're making, the efficiency, going down there and getting points to start the game, that's awesome, but then you come around to the next series and you have a number of penalties. Those are the things against a good football team you have to avoid."
The Titans will play the Jaguars in Week 13. The Colts play the Seahawks in Week 15.
Jaguars take down Cardinals in overtime
Sunday's game wasn't pretty for the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence was 18-of-30, threw three interceptions and had a fumble that was recovered for a Cardinals touchdown. But he also threw three touchdowns and orchestrated what would end up being the game-winning drive in overtime, and the Jaguars won because of his resilience.
"I always have faith in Trevor," tight end Brenton Strange said. "Trevor's my quarterback, man. I never don't have faith in Trevor...whatever he does, I'm right there with him no matter what. Right there with him."
"People can watch the tape and make their own judgments – I'll watch it and do the same," Lawrence said. "(I) had some tough plays out there. Those guys make good plays as well. I have to be smart with the ball. We had 4 turnovers and they were all on me. I own that. I have to do my job, take care of the ball and not put our defense in tough spots. Totally get that. I'm never going to play scared. I'm going to continue to let it rip and I think that's why we had a chance at the end of the day is because you keep playing. Never going to apologize for that, but I will say cannot turn the ball over four times. I own that and I have to clean that up."
The Jaguars defense deserves as much credit as Lawrence does, too, playing without some of their top playmakers in cornerback Travis Hunter and defensive end Travon Walker. They managed to hold the Cardinals to just 17 points despite those four offensive turnovers, registered six sacks and stood strong to force the Cardinals to turn the ball over on downs in overtime and end the game.
"Guys stepped up," head coach Liam Coen said. "Nobody flinched, nobody was walking around, head down, disappointed or frustrated. You've got to keep playing and that's been the message for the last few weeks is to just keep playing. These guys closed it out when we needed to."
Running back Travis Etienne had 15 carries for 86 yards and three receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown, and Strange had five receptions for 93 yards; wide receivers Parker Washington and Jakobi Meyers each scored touchdowns as well.
With the win, the Jaguars improved to 7-4 and are just one game back from the Colts; the two AFC South foes will face off in Weeks 14 and 17.
"It's not about anybody else but us," linebacker Foyesade Oluokun said. "Let's control these 6 games and get those wins. We play the Colts twice. When they see us, we have to handle what we're supposed to handle."
