Week 10 of the 2024 NFL season proved to be less than ideal for the AFC South, as all four teams in the division lost on Sunday. The Jacksonville Jaguars lost their third game in a row, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 12-7, the Tennessee Titans lost 27-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers and the Houston Texans gave up a last-second field goal to the Detroit Lions to lose 26-23.
Titans struggle on both sides of the ball in loss to Chargers
Quarterback Will Levis returned to the field after missing the Titans' previous three games with a right shoulder injury. He completed 18-of-23 passes for 175 yards and two touchdowns, but was sacked a whopping seven times, including five times in the second half. The Chargers also had a total of nine quarterback hits.
"In the second half, personally for me, there were a couple of situations where I could have gotten the ball out earlier and helped the line with pressure," Levis said. "I have to continue to learn in that area. It's on everybody. I have to help those guys how I can getting the ball out, and they have to give me time, and I have to learn when there is not time and get the ball out."
On the flip side, Tennessee's defense couldn't put any pressure on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. The defense was credited with just two quarterback hits in the game, and Herbert completed 14-of-18 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown, with an average of 9.1 yards per play.
"Tip of the cap to them – they played well, they were the more physical team today," head coach Brian Callahan said. "And, in a low possession game, we need to score touchdowns, and we didn't (score enough). We gave up too many sacks…and had too many negatives plays in the second half."
The Titans allowed a 56-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that kickstarted a Chargers touchdown drive to put them up 20-10. Los Angeles went on to score one more touchdown in the fourth quarter, and while Levis was able to connect with wide receiver Calvin Ridley for a last-minute touchdown, it was too late.
Ridley scored both Titans touchdowns on Sunday, finishing with five receptions for 84 yards. His 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter was the longest play of the day for Tennessee; no other play was longer than 20 yards.
"Guys played hard, we still kept fighting," Callahan said. "But at the end of the day, we didn't have enough complementary football, and we didn't play well enough."
Jaguars offense records 143 total yards in loss to Vikings
The Jaguars' loss to the Vikings holds some of the most lopsided statistics across the NFL this season. The Vikings dominated time of possession 42:19-17:41 – the highest differential in the league this season – and outgained the Jaguars 402-143. Minnesota ran 82 plays to Jacksonville's 43 and had 28 first downs while Jacksonville had just 10.
And yet, the final score was just 12-7 and the Vikings didn't score a touchdown for the first time all season.
"I thought defense did an outstanding job with the type of firepower they have on offense," head coach Doug Pederson said postgame.
The Jaguars picked off Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold three times and continually forced takeaways in the first three quarters; the Jaguars led 7-6 entering the fourth quarter. But Vikings kicker John Parker Romo hit two field goals in the final quarter, and the Jaguars' offense couldn't find a way to go on another scoring drive.
"I told the defense they played a great game," quarterback Mac Jones, starting in place of an injured Trevor Lawrence, said. "I have to put a better product out there to help us win."
Jones completed 14-of-22 passes for 111 yards with no touchdowns. Jones also threw two interceptions on the Jaguars' final two possessions of the game.
"It's one of the Top 5 defenses in the NFL, so they're going to challenge the quarterback," Jones said. "We actually did a good job of the hard stuff. The easy stuff just wasn't good enough by me. We have to play better and it starts with me."
"We fought," cornerback Tyson Campbell said. "We fought 'til the triple zeroes came on the board. I'm proud of the defense, proud of those guys. We've still got belief in this team. I'd run through a wall for them."
Texans lose to Lions despite strong defensive performance
Up until the fourth quarter of the Texans' Sunday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions at NRG Stadium, it looked like the home team was going to pull away with a win.
Houston scored 23 points in the first half thanks to three field goals from kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn and touchdowns from running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver John Metchie III. Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 14-of-20 passes for 164 yards and one touchdown, and Houston's defense picked off Lions quarterback Jared Goff three times, holding him to just 7-of-17 for 91 yards and one touchdown. With a 23-7 lead at the half, the Texans seemed on pace to win.
But in the second half, the game flipped. Two interceptions and a missed 58-yard field goal in the third quarter sucked the energy out of the Texans, and the Lions scored 19 unanswered points across the third and fourth quarters. Kicker Jake Bates was the hero of the game, making a field goal to tie the game 23-23 and coming through once again with four seconds left on the clock to get the win 26-23.
Fairbairn missed a 52-yard field goal of his own just minutes before, on what ended up being the Texans' final possession of the game. The Texans have now been outscored by 59 points after halftime this season.
"Definitely should have won this game," Stroud said. "My job is to lead the offense to score points, and I didn't do that today. ... We really should have put them away after the first half. It's really on the offense."
Houston's defense picked off Goff twice more in the second half, but Stroud completed just five-of-13 passes for 68 yards and two interceptions, and he was sacked twice. Both interceptions came in the third quarter, and the second one was a crucial one; Stroud launched a deep pass to wide receiver Tank Dell that was snagged in the end zone by cornerback Carlton Davis III (his second interception of the day), taking away a touchdown that would have put Houston up 30-13.
"It's not good enough. Turning the football over there, especially in the red zone, or coming out," coach DeMeco Ryans said. "To come out and turn the ball over on the first play of the second half and to get in the red zone where we have points and to turn the ball over, that's not winning football."
"We are not being an efficient offense in the second half. What we did in the first half, we had our foot on the pedal, and we're clicking on all cylinders," left tackle Laremy Tunsil said. "Then we get in the second half, we take our foot off the pedal, and that's something we can't do if we want to be a championship football team. We've been struggling with that the whole year."
