The Houston Texans might clinch the AFC South before the first frost, because they have the luxury of playing in a division with two teams that don’t seem to want the ball.
The Jaguars had the ball for a meager 16:43 against Houston, but the Titans did them one better, with just 16:21 worth of offense in their loss to the Chargers.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau (via Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com), it’s the first time two teams kept the ball for more than 43 minutes in the same weekend since 1980.
The Jaguars didn’t convert a single third down (0-of-9), had only one drive of longer than four plays (a six-play march on their first possession) and gained a whopping 117 yards on the day.
The Titans gained 212 total yards, but like the Jags finished with nine first downs and were machine-like in comparison with their 1-of-9 rate on third down conversions. And other than a 10-play drive which yielded a field goal, they too failed to keep the ball for more than four plays on any other possession.
Remember we’re talking about teams that drafted quarterbacks in the first round last year in hopes of avoiding just this. But neither Blaine Gabbert nor Jake Locker could do enough to break a sweat, much less improve yesterday.