INDIANAPOLIS — We've hit the halfway point of the 2016 NFL regular season, and the race in the AFC South Division is still very much up for grabs.
In fact, due to the Houston Texans' (5-3) bye week this week, the Tennessee Titans (4-4), with a win this Sunday on the road against the San Diego Chargers, could be tied for tops in the division in the wins column.
The Indianapolis Colts (3-5), with a win this Sunday on the road against the Green Bay Packers, meanwhile, could remain just a game out in the wins column heading into their bye week.
Then there's the Jacksonville Jaguars, who moved to 2-5 on the season with their 36-22 loss to the Titans in Week 7 on Thursday Night Football. They go on the road to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs hoping to stay at least a couple games back.
Now, the Detroit Lions could've done the rest of the division a huge favor and went into Houston to defeat the Texans on Sunday — becoming the first team to knock off the Texans at Reliant Stadium this season — but that didn't come to fruition. Houston saw yet another bounce-back performance from quarterback Brock Osweiler, and came out with a 20-13 win.
The Colts, meanwhile, continued their season of inconsistency on Sunday, falling to the Chiefs, 30-14, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
So before the next week of action gets underway, let's take a comprehensive look around the AFC South action during Week 8 of the 2016 regular season, via the AP:
• Tennessee Titans 36, Jacksonville Jaguars 22
Marcus Mariota threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns to end his home struggles and the Tennessee Titans had their highest point total of the season in a 36-22 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night.
Since the start of the 2014 season, the Titans' home record is 3-0 against the Jaguars and 1-17 against everybody else. The Titans are 3-8 in home games started by Mariota, a second-year pro out of Oregon.
Mariota was 18 of 22 for 270 yards and had a 148.1 passer rating, the second-highest of his career. DeMarco Murray ran for 123 yards and a touchdown.
The Titans (4-4) gained a season-high 494 total yards and won for the third time in four games. They scored on six straight possessions during a stretch that began in the first quarter and stretched into the third period.
Tennessee already led 3-0 before Mariota threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Kendall Wright on the first play of the second quarter. Rookie Derrick Henry capped the Titans' next drive by scoring his first career touchdown on a 6-yard run.
Murray added a 14-yard touchdown run 3 1/2 minutes later.
After starting out to his right and encountering traffic, Murray reversed his field, capitalized on a downfield block from Mariota and dove into the left corner of the end zone for his sixth touchdown run of the season.
Jacksonville (2-5) trailed 24-0 by the time it got its second first down of the game midway through the second quarter. The Titans made it 27-0 at the intermission with a 90-yard drive that resulted in Ryan Succop's 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half.
Blake Bortles threw three touchdown passes for Jacksonville and went 33 of 54 for 337 yards, but much of his production came with the game out of reach.
• Houston Texans 20, Detroit Lions 13
Brock Osweiler bounced back from an ugly performance by throwing for 186 yards and a touchdown to help the Houston Texans remain perfect at home this season with a 20-13 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
The Texans (5-3) have lost all of their road games, including a 27-9 loss to Denver on Monday, but they've had no such trouble in Houston where they're 5-0 this season.
Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston, but has been better at home where he's thrown eight of his nine touchdown passes.
On Sunday, he gave the Texans a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard touchdown pass to C.J. Fiedorowicz in the second quarter. The Texans made it 14-0 when Lamar Miller bulled his way into the end zone from a yard out later in the quarter. That score was set up when DeAndre Hopkins used one hand to make a 12-yard reception.
The Lions (4-4) cut the lead to seven when Theo Riddick connected with Matthew Stafford on a 1-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter.
Houston added a field goal after that before a 34-yard field goal by Matt Prater got Detroit back within a score. But Houston recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock to secure the victory.
Stafford threw for 240 yards and a touchdown for Detroit, which had a three-game winning streak snapped as the Lions were unable to continue a string of late-game comebacks.
