AFC South Wrap Up Week 3

                                                     AFC South Wrap Up Week 3
 
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer-Football Reporters Online
Southeast Region
 
New York Jets 24 Tennessee 17
If they thought they could not find another way to lose the Titans were wrong. Once again it was special teams that killed their hopes of win number one this year. They are now 0-3 and history shows that teams that start 0-3 do not make the playoff too often. Rookie Ryan Mouton was back in action and I would bet he wishes he had another week to heal up. He fumbled a kickoff and a punt and the Jets scored touchdowns on both errors. The first one helped put the Jets up 14-0 early and the second put them ahead to stay. Now head coach Jeff Fisher is taking a bunch of questions as to why he kept his faith in the rookie. The secondary is also thinner after Vincent Fuller broke his right arm on a heck of a collision.  Quarterback Kerry Collins could not complete a pass in the late stages of the fourth quarter. He has accepted full responsibility for his play but did not get help from his receivers. He was also under a lot of pressure from the Jets defense as they forced him to hurry throws and hit him several times. He finished 15-37 for 170 yards and a quarterback rating of 41.5. Fisher announced that there will be no changes in the lineup despite the 0-3 start. Running back Chris Johnson ran for 97 yards on 22 carries but did not score. They did better on defense this week as they held the Jets to 229 total yards but made rookie Mark Sanchez look good especially on third down. They had four turnovers with the Mouton fumbles and two interceptions by Collins. They are now in a hole that is very hard to get out of in the NFL. They will have to address the return game and maybe get some help in the secondary. During the off season they did not re-sign Chris Carr because they could not promise him time in the secondary and they could sure use him now. There is much work to do if the Titans stand any chance of making the playoffs. It is rare after a 0-3 start but it can be done.
 
Jacksonville 31 Houston 24
After one of the biggest wins in franchise history last week the Texans were looking to keep that feel good feeling they had. Instead they ran into Maurice Jones-Drew who had a big day. He had his first 100-yard game of the year running for 119 yards and three touchdowns. The Jags ran for 184 and that was the third straight opponent with over 180 yards on the ground against the Texans. It was especially heartbreaking when QB Matt Schaub went 26-35 for 300 yards with three touchdowns and one interception. The touchdowns all came in the first half though and he could not produce after that.  But Drew was a one man wrecking crew on this day and the Texans find themselves at 1-2 and back to the drawing board. Houston had there chances to stay in the game and failed to make it count when Chris Brown fumbled the ball at the goal line and the Jags got it back. Another chance happened when Dunta Robinson forced a fumble but the Texans went three and out to blow another opportunity. Mistake after mistake cost them so when in the third quarter LB Brian Cushing had a late hit penalty and it cost the Texans when Jacksonville scored off the penalty. Each team is now 1-2 and two games behind division leader Indianapolis.
 
Indianapolis 31 Arizona 10
 If there were any questions regarding Peyton Manning they were answered Sunday as he went 24-35 for 379 yards and four touchdowns. He appeared to make the right call every time as he moved Indy up and down the filed against a weak Cardinals defense. The Colts gained a total of 505 yards of offense and on defense gave Kurt Warner fits all day long. Indy also got two turnovers deep in their territory to stop Arizona drives. The Colts defense also rebounded against the run allowing only 24 yards on 12 tries to the Cards. The offense is moving crisply behind Manning and the Colts are all alone atop the AFC South at 3-0 with no one in their sights at this time. Looks like the Manning brothers like it in Arizona as Peyton won on his first trip there and brother Eli won the Super Bowl here.