At the onset of 2025, future market betting, gamblers are making it clear in regards to the AFC South. This year, gamblers see the Texans as the favorite to repeat as AFC South champions. Still, some are shopping for the Jaguars and the Colts. The NFL odds betting public gives Tennessee less of a chance after firing popular head coach Mike Vrabel in 2023 and having a quarterback, Will Levis, that many fans and observers deride as a bad joke. Tennessee took QB Cam Ward first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft to begin a rebuild.
AFC South Division Championship Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Houston Texans | +110 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | +260 |
| Indianapolis Colts | +350 |
| Tennessee Titan | +800 |
Of course, it has been a disappointing step back for the Jaguars. Especially after winning the AFC South in 2022. That 2022 campaign was the first for head coach Doug Pederson, who is best known for leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl championship. Pederson has a well-earned reputation as a QB whisperer. Certainly, that was the case when he tutored Trevor Lawrence into a championship-level QB. However, Pederson was fired after last year’s sports betting failure, as he failed to keep the wins coming.
Accordingly, Lawrence’s rookie season went to waste with the ill-fitting Urban Meyer as head coach. But when Pederson arrived, he proved to have the Midas touch, leading the Jags to a playoff win and the presumption of a winning era. Jacksonville’s step back in 2023 and 2024 was a bitter disappointment. Now the Jags are fighting to recover their self-respect.
DeMeco Ryans was not a popular hire as head coach. But nobody is griping anymore after he led the Texans to a playoff win and an unexpected season of triumph. Now comes the big NFL betting odds test for Stroud and Ryans, who must prove that the 2023 and 2024 seasons were not a fluke.
The AFC East and West are historic divisions and brands that date back to 1960, when the American Football League was founded. By contrast, the AFC South was established through expansion and the relocation of franchises. In 2002, the AFC South opened for business with the Tennessee Titans, formerly the Houston Oilers, who were replaced by the expansion Houston Texans. Also filling out the division are the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team born from expansion in the 1990s. And then there are the odd-fitting Indianapolis Colts, who joined the AFC East as the Baltimore Colts during the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, only to move again to the AFC South.
In the early days of the division, the Colts dominated, with quarterback Peyton Manning leading them to seven division titles in eight seasons from 2003 through 2010. Next came the Houston Texans, who won the AFC South six times from 2011 to 2019. After the Titans reclaimed the division crown for 2020 and 2021, the Jacksonville Jaguars won it in 2022. The past two seasons, the Texans reclaimed AFC South supremacy with QB CJ Stroud, giving fans and gamblers optimism for a potential new dynasty.
Although Jacksonville is a mid-tier team in the conference, the Jags were odds-on favorites to win the division. However, Houston was the surprise team of 2023 and 2024, taking the division, while the Sloppy Jaguars stepped back.
The Indianapolis Colts’ success in the AFC South dates back to their days with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning under center. But the Colts haven’t claimed a division title since 2014, though. Houston was the team of the 2010s, winning all six of its AFC South titles that decade, surpassing both Tennessee and Jacksonville.