AFC South Odds – Jaguars Favored to Win Back-To-Back Titles

The Tennessee Titans two-year reign atop the AFC South standings came to a crashing thud a season ago after Mike Vrabel’s overrated squad busted out of the gates with a fury only to fold like a cheap suit late by dropping seven straight to concede division bragging rights to the upstart Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags proved to be the only team to churn out a positive scoring margin within the division but it only came by 2.5 points per game. Doug Pederson’s troops were hardly dominant, but that hasn’t stopped BetRivers Sportsbook from installing them prohibitive -167 favorites to become the third straight team to win the division in back-to-back years. Houston and Tennessee pulled off the feat previously. The title race is expected to be heated with no team offering up better than a 9-1 return on investment. That comes as quite the surprise with the potential for three rookie quarterbacks to be leading their respective offenses. That makes investing in the overall winner all the more exciting! Let’s dig into the current futures odds and see what each of the four teams offer up.

Bet AFC South Title Odds at BetRivers Sportsbook

Jacksonville Jaguars -167

What a difference a year makes entering year three of the Trevor Lawrence era! Just last season, #Sacksonville hit the board +750 underdogs to win the AFC South title. Their odds of pulling off the feat were as high as 10-1 in Week 14 a week removed from getting slaughtered 40-14 in Detroit by the Lions. The team would then go on to win each of their final five games. That paired with the Titz nosedive allowed for the Jaguars to secure AFC South bragging rights for only the second time in franchise history.

This team was nothing if not money in the bank for NFL bettors the second half of the season with it cashing in at a 8-2-1 clip which includes coming in for its wagering supporters in both playoff games. That being said, the pass defense was a major issue (No. 28) and I’m not overly impressed with the way the front office went about its business shoring up that deficiency. On top of that, it’s highly unlikely the Jaguars defense is amongst the league leaders at forcing turnovers so negative regression is bound to hit in that department. Should that be the case, the much-hyped offense better be on point with it likely needing to win a number of shootouts to hold onto the crown.

Tennessee Titans +375

I pegged the Titans as a team to fade and acted on that belief right from the outset. I bet against them on the NFL betting odds right from Week 1 and came off looking like Nostradamus after the New York Giants went into Nissan Stadium and handed them a 21-20 defeat. Immediately after, the Titz got skunked 41-7 by the Buffalo Bills as hefty road dogs. Then to my disgust, the team went out and won seven of its next eight and covered the closing NFL odds in each and every one of those games. Even so, I held true to my beliefs and still recommended loading up on Jacksonville futures knowing full well the back half of Tennessee’s schedule was nothing if not nightmarish. The rest was history – and lucrative!

Entering 2023-24, the Titans are still getting respect from linemakers and I think it has everything to do with Mike Vrabel being the best and most proven coach in the division. The front office isn’t filled with a bunch of dumdums either with last year’s 7-10 record snapping a string of six straight seasons with at least nine tallies put in the win column. I like what the front office did in the draft though many others didn’t – especially the selection of RB Tyjae Spears in the third round – and the improved O-Line should put a jolt in the passing attack regardless of whoever snags the QB1 gig. Speaking of which, Will Levis will make the quarterback room much more competitive and that’s great for everyone involved.

Indianapolis Colts +550

As excellent the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans proved to be for my bankroll throughout the 2022-23 NFL betting season, the Indianapolis Colts were anything but. I bought into them being the chalk favorite heading into the year hook, line, and sinker and they went on to win a grand total of four games. To make matters all the more worse, I drafted Jonathan Taylor with the No. 1 pick in my fantasy football draft – DOH! The warning signs were there right from the outset after settling for a tie as 7-point road favorites against the Houston Texans. That was followed up with a 24-0 loss at Jacksonville in a game I backed Indy on the moneyline and also bet the over of their team total – DOUBLE DOH!

A new era ushers into Indy for 2023-24 with Shane Steichen taking over the head coaching duties. The hope is that he can do for rookie QB Anthony Richardson what he did for Jalen Hurts as the Eagles offensive coordinator the last few seasons. It’s likely to take time though. Thankfully, the Colts have a very doable early-season schedule that could put them in a position to achieve success later down the road when honestly; the schedule doesn’t get much tougher. The offense will be much better provided the offensive line dramatically improves, but the defense will also need to gel quickly for Indy to have any staying power in the AFC South.

Houston Texans +850

Slowly but surely, the Texans have added some fantastic pieces to the puzzle in hopes of rising from the ashes of the JJ Watt and Deshaun Watson glory days of the franchise. Last year, upper management added stud CB Derek Stingley Jr. to be its lock down cover man. His presence – albeit brief – was immediately felt with the Texans ending the year ranked No. 10 in pass defense. Rookie Safety Jalen Pitre also made a huge impact leading the team with five interceptions and a team-high 99 tackles. Though NFL bettors unfortunately didn’t get to see how WR John Metchie III’s game translated at the NFL level due to health issues, they got a heavy dose of RB Dameon Pierce who proved to be NFL ready combining for 1,100+ scrimmage yards and 5 TD.

That fantastic draft class will only look better now that C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson were added to the mix with the second and third picks of the 2023 NFL Draft. The former will quickly help solve the issues the franchise has had at the quarterback position since the Watson debacle, while the latter will greatly improve a pass rush with his EDGE rushing expertise. PointsBet certainly looks to be of the belief that Houston will be greatly improved considering its odds of winning the division opened +3000 just a short season ago. Its win total is also up a full game from the previous season (5.5). Not gonna lie, Houston is an intriguing team that I’ll likely be invested in on a gamely basis numerous times throughout the year.

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