A capsule look at the AFC South heading into the 2026 season, with teams listed in predicted order of finish.
Houston Texans
BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 20-1; Over-under win total: 9.5
Strengths: A truly dominant defense at all three levels. The Texas were 3-5 before ripping off nine straight wins to finish the regular season, then the defense punked Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers in a wild-card game. Will Anderson is a defensive player of the year candidate. He and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. were first-team All-Pro selections, while four other members of the defense either made the Pro Bowl (Kamari Lassiter, Calen Bullock and Azeez Al-Shaair) or earned second-team all-Pro honors (Danielle Hunter). Now the scary part: Houston’s defense could be even better this year.
Weaknesses: After Nico Collins, who is a legit No. 1 wideout that just needs to stay healthy, there are plenty of questions on offense. C.J. Stroud was a mess, to put it kindly, by the end of last season. David Montgomery is here to potentially add some stability at running back and the offensive line is revamped. With just minor improvements on offense, this is a Super Bowl contender.
Jacksonville Jaguars
BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 30-1; Over-under win total: 9.5
Strengths: The Liam Cohen-Trevor Lawrence partnership helped the Jaguars become one of the surprise teams in 2025. Lawrence set a career high with 29 touchdown passes, plus nine rushing scores, and finished fifth in league MVP voting. Parker Washington had multiple first-round picks in front of him on the depth chart at the start of the year, but became the team’s leading receiver in a breakout year. The defense was the NFL’s best against the run and forced the second-most turnovers.
Weaknesses: Second-team all-Pro middle linebacker Devin Lloyd is in Charlotte with the Panthers. Leading rusher Travis Etienne, Jr. is in New Orleans with the Saints. Former Colorado superstar Travis Hunter is a big wild card in his second year. He’s likely to focus mostly on the defensive side of the ball after the two-way player plan mostly fizzled as a rookie. The schedule will be much tougher this season.
Indianapolis Colts
BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 66-1; Over-under win total: 7.5
Strengths: Jonathan Taylor led the league in carries (323) and touchdowns (18) while racking up his best yardage total (1,585) since 2021. Tyler Warren was as advertised in his rookie year, finishing tied for sixth in catches (76) and fifth in receiving yards (817) among tight ends. Sauce Gardner was a huge in-season trade addition, but got hurt after playing in just four games for the Colts. He and Charvarius Ward, who missed nine games with multiple concussions, are both Pro Bowl-level cornerbacks when healthy.
±Ա:Alec Pierce had a 1,000-yard season on just 47 catches, but No. 1 wideout Michael Pittman is off to Pittsburgh and the Colts’ receiving corps looks like it could be one of the worst in the league. Warren might need to catch 100-plus balls. Nearly every key player outside of Taylor and Warren are coming back from injury or dealing with one. That includes quarterback Daniel Jones, who was having a breakout season before an achilles tear.
Tennessee Titans
BetMGM says: Win Super Bowl: 250-1; Over-under win total: 6.5
Strengths: Cam Ward had an inconsistent rookie season, but he could have beaten the Broncos in Week 1 if it weren’t for about a half-dozen drops by his receiving targets. The No. 1 pick in 2025 should be throwing a lot of passes to the No. 4 pick from 2026, Carnell Tate, who hopes to continue to the Ohio State-to-NFL star wideout assembly line. Jeffrey Simmons is an elite defensive lineman who should either be the building block on defense or fetch a huge return in a trade at some point.
Weaknesses: The defense has a long way to go around Simmons, though ex-Broncos pass rusher John Franklin-Myers is one of a bushel of new additions alone with defensive-minded head coach Robert Saleh. The offensive line needs to be much better to help Ward develop into the franchise quarterback the Titans desperately need him to be.
