Despite their loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, the Colts remain first in the AFC South and are tied for the best record in the league at 7-2 alongside two other AFC teams in the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.
Two out of the remaining three AFC South teams also lost on Sunday; the Houston Texans lost to the Broncos on a walk off field goal and the Tennessee Titans lost to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are the only other team in the AFC South besides the Colts currently with a winning record, sitting at 5-3 after they beat the Las Vegas Raiders in overtime.
Texans offense sputters after C.J. Stroud sustains concussion
The Texans' 18-15 loss to the Broncos was largely characterized by the two teams trading field goals throughout the entire game, so in a way it was only fitting that was how the game ended. The Broncos, after forcing the Texans to punt for the sixth consecutive time, marched down the field in the final minute of the game and nailed a 34-yard field goal to win it, handing the Texans their second loss at home.
On the day, the Texans recorded 268 total yards of offense (averaging 3.7 yards per play) with just 77 rushing yards. They were 3-of-17 on third down and 0-for-3 in the red zone; kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn's five field goals weren't enough in this one.
"It wasn't good enough," head coach DeMeco Ryans said postgame. "We were in the red zone multiple times as an offense there at the one-yard line, had multiple opportunities to get it in.
"That's just about, it's sheer willpower to me at the one-yard line. We gotta find a way to displace guys at the line of scrimmage and punch the football in. That's what it takes in that situation. We didn't get it done...That's not winning football."
Quarterback C.J. Stroud began the game 6-of-10 for 79 yards (he was also sacked twice) but left the game early in the second quarter after attempting to slide and harshly hitting his head on the ground. He was later ruled out with a concussion.
Backup quarterback Davis Mills entered in Stroud's place, and he also started off strong by leading the Texans on two consecutive field goal drives. But after the Broncos huddled at halftime and made the appropriate adjustments, the Texans could only score one more field goal before punting six straight times to end the game.
"We just sputtered there offensively," Ryans said. "We lacked just being able to sustain drives there in the second half, it just wasn't good enough. We kind of sputtered along, had quick three-and-outs when it's not good enough."
The Texans have a chance to right the ship next weekend when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars in a crucial divisional matchup.
Titans unable to sustain energy after hot start
The Titans' 27-20 loss to the Chargers had similar themes to the Texans game, as the Titans also failed to produce offensively – in fact, despite scoring 20 points the Titans did not record a single offensive touchdown.
The Titans struck first with a pick-6 by linebacker Cody Barton, and after allowing a Chargers touchdown, retook the lead with a punt returned for a 67-yard touchdown by wide receiver Chimere Dike. The Titans would score two more times on field goals from kicker Joey Slye.
The game remained close until midway through the third quarter when, after the Titans were stopped twice at the goal line and turned the ball over on downs, the Chargers went on a nine-minute, 99-yard touchdown drive to extend their lead 27-17. The Titans were unable to get anything other than a field goal on their next (and final) possession, and the Chargers ran out the clock with three third-down conversions in the last four minutes of the game.
"It's frustrating to look at, because of the missed opportunities that we had," interim head coach Mike McCoy said postgame. "Losing sucks any way you look at it. It's hard, like I just told (the players). We talked about playing hard, tough and together – that's what they did. But we made too many mistakes in the game, from the first quarter all the way to the fourth quarter. You can't just say it's one play here or there – the goal-line stand was obviously big, but there were plenty of other things that we had an opportunity to go out there and execute better, and we didn't."
Quarterback Cam Ward finished the game 12-of-21 for 145 yards; the Titans recorded 206 total net yards to the Chargers' 343. The Titans converted just one third down on nine attempts and had just 10 first downs to the Chargers' 21. Ward was also sacked four times.
"Real disappointed," Ward said. "Especially just because we know that's the biggest problem – we have to execute on drives, and we didn't.
"Special teams, defense, they did their jobs today to put us in a situation to win. But offensively, we didn't do enough to win."
The Titans have a bye week in Week 10.
Jaguars get gutsy overtime win
The Jaguars were the lone AFC South team to record a win in Week 9, and they did so in a thrilling, gutsy way. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence was reportedly playing through an illness and the Jaguars' receivers – already down rookie Travis Hunter – sustained a plethora of injuries throughout the game.
The 27-20 win wasn't pretty – the Jaguars struggled offensively in the first half and defensively in the second half – but it all came down to what they did in overtime, and that was when the tides shifted. Lawrence was the one to carry the ball into the end zone for a touchdown (after a 54-yard kickoff return by wide receiver Austin Trammell), and after the Raiders answered in kind with a touchdown of their own, nose tackle DaVon Hamilton saved the day by batting down quarterback Geno Smith's two-point conversion attempt.
"At the end of the day, find a way to win," Lawrence said. "We were able to do that. It was a crazy ending there, but we found a way."
Lawrence finished the game 23-of-34 for 220 yards and one interception; he also had nine carries for 24 yards and two touchdowns. The Jaguars put up 367 total yards and converted 9-of-16 third down attempts, but the defense struggled to pressure Smith and couldn't stop tight end Brock Bowers. Smith finished the game with 29 passes for 284 yards and four touchdowns.
Kicker Cam Little set a new NFL regular-season record with a 68-yard field goal to put the first Jaguars points on the board at halftime, which created the spark for them to score on each of their following five possessions.
"The kick ignited us, but nobody was flinching," head coach Liam Coen said. "Nobody was freaking out. It was back and forth the entire second half and these guys kept battling, kept battling and making plays."
The Jaguars are now 5-3 and in second place in the AFC South behind the Colts. They play the Texans in Week 10 at NRG Stadium. In the two teams' first meeting this season, the Jaguars won 17-10.
