NFL Week 13 takeaways: AFC South coming on strong in playoff push; AFC East provides some finality

Don’t look now, but here comes the AFC South. The AFC North’s gotten most of the buzz when it comes to sneaking three teams into the postseason, but the South is a better candidate given how things have gone recently with the teams inside this division.

The Texans squared off against Denver in what amounted to a loser leaves town type of match: Sportsline’s projection model had a greater than 40% swing for both teams in terms of playoff odds. And Houston once again came out on top, with the defense making some massive plays late in the game, recording a trio of second-half interceptions off Russell Wilson to seal a 22-17 victory that puts them in prime position to secure a playoff spot in the coming weeks.

Houston is 7-5 now, a shocking record considering the Texans won a total of 11 games the previous three years combined. But maybe it shouldn’t be so surprising — the Texans landed C.J. Stroud and Will Anderson with the No. 2 and No. 3 picks, respectively, and both have been very good for Houston so far this season. 

Sunday might not have been Stroud’s best game of the year, but that’s not an insult. Stroud made some really nice throws against a stout Denver defense, he didn’t turn the ball over (although he did fumble once) and despite losing Tank Dell to injury early in the game, managed to produce another 20+ point effort and a victory for Houston. 

Anderson recorded a pair of sacks and second-year cornerback Derek Stingley, who’s coming on like gangbusters right now, recorded one of the picks. The Texans young defense is tantalizing from a long-term perspective but they’re also intriguing at the moment, despite getting involved in a slew of shootouts this season. 

In theory there should be some rookie wall coming for Stroud at some point but it sure hasn’t materialized in any firm fashion, and we’re already through Week 13. At this point it just stands to reason he’s…

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Author : Will Brinson

Publish date : 2023-12-04 03:54:35

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