​The AFC South is Still an Embarrassment

The teams of the AFC South were supposed to assert themselves as members of the NFL's most improved division. The Texans were already a winning team, and added plenty of talent on offense, Andrew Luck was sure to have a bounceback year, and the only NFL unit more dramatically remade than the Titans' offense was the Jaguars' defense.

But after three weeks, the division's just as much of an embarrassment as it's been in recent years—and maybe even more so, given the expectations.

Let's start with the reigning champ, the Houston Texans. After two close, exciting wins they laid a massive egg on Thursday Night Football. The 27-0 final score doesn't begin to cover it: The Pats were starting third-string rookie Jacoby Brissett at quarterback, had Rob Gronkowski and half the O-line effectively unavailable, and a short week to prepare for a full-strength Texans defense.

Good teams have already lost (and will lose) to these Patriots—but any notion that the Texans were more than just the best of a bad bunch has dissipated. They'll have no hope of advancing in the playoffs if this is how they play against playoff teams.

The Colts, trying to get back to that "2014 AFC Finalist" form, were handled by the Trevor Siemian-led Denver Broncos. The Detroit Lions ran up a 21-3 lead on them before they mounted a failed comeback attempt. No matter what happens against the San Diego Chargers, the Colts will be looking up at the .500 winning percentage they maintained all last year.

The Titans came into the season looking to take the ball out of sophomore quarterback Marcus Mariota's hands, letting a revamped running game lead the way. Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's early work has been strong, limiting the Lions, Minnesota Vikings, and Oakland Raiders to an average of 14 offensive points each—but the Titans' offense has been even more anemic, and if the Lions hadn't had three touchdowns called back on penalties, the Titans would be 0-3.

And then, the Jaguars. Oh, Jaguars.

Nobody added more talent on defense than the Jaguars, who got plenty of buzz as a sleeper team when the Jags signed or drafted presumed impact players at every level of the defense. Quarterback Blake Bortles was supposed to take the next step, after flashing more and more often over the last two years.

He was an unmitigated disaster in Week 3, though. He threw away a very winnable game against the underwhelming Baltimore Ravens when he threw three ugly picks. The last of which was a deal-sealer that ended a pathetic attempt at a game-winning drive. The Jags don't look any stronger than they did last year—or at any point in the Gus Bradley era.

The bar may not be set that high in Jacksonville, but management and ownership have to be looking hard at making their squad the first team of 2016 to fire their head coach.

It'd only be fitting for a division that was, and is, the worst in the NFL.