Report: AFC South Foe Ranked One of the Worst in NFL

For some of the season, the AFC South was one of the more competitive divisions in the National Football League. While that quickly changed as most of the teams continued to lose while the Houston Texans continued to win, the division is always one to watch, as it routinely provides entertaining football.

Still, there is no denying that most of the teams in the AFC South are bad teams that need significant improvement this offseason. Two of the four teams in the division are set to pick within the top five picks of the upcoming NFL Draft, perfectly explaining how bad the division has been.

However, the Jaguars have failed to have a legitimate shot at the division title despite the poor performances of the other teams within the division. Luckily, there is not much of a gap between them and two of the other three teams in the division.

Sterling Xie of Pro Football Focus recently ranked each team's defense following the conclusion of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs. Xie ranked the Colts' defense ahead of the Jaguars' but noted that their defense struggled for most of the season, like the Jaguars' defense.

"The Indianapolis Colts season will be defined by their Week 17 faceplant against the [New York] Giants," Xie said. "While this defense was never as bad as the 45-point disaster that eliminated them from playoff contention, this 23rd-place ranking was an accurate reflection of their overall level. Indianapolis’ defense has seen little improvement over the last three seasons since Shane Steichen became head coach and was actually worse this year than over the last two combined. As of the Monday following Week 18, the team had not made a decision on Gus Bradley, but it would be a surprise to see the veteran coordinator get a fourth season in Indy (editor’s note: Gus Bradley, indeed, was fired by the Colts).

Xie noted the fact that the Colts have one of the worst defenses in the league in multiple statistical categories.

"Even with investments along the defensive line over the years, the Colts finished 30th in pressure rate without blitzing and 30th in third-down defense," Xie said. "Becoming more disruptive on money downs will be this unit’s easiest path toward improvement in 2025."

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