AFC Notes: Colts, Texans, Titans, Malik Willis

Colts

The Colts seem to find new ways to hit a low point each week, with the latest a 38-10 drubbing at the hands of the Giants who hadn’t won a game by more than eight points all season. It was a particularly bad look for interim HC Jeff Saturday, who is now a long way away from his first victory in his first game in charge. Three of the Colts’ four wins this season came under previous HC Frank Reich.

“I had expectations (that) this was gonna be a tough road,” Saturday said via the Athletic’s Zak Keefer. “Again, there’s no surprise. You don’t change coaches in the middle of the year when you’re successful. So I knew it was going to be an uphill battle. I knew (there) were gonna be tough days. I feel for the guys. I feel for the players.

“These guys put a ton of work in, and you want them to be successful and you try to arm them with as much as you can to let them be successful, and unfortunately, we’re not making enough plays, and they haven’t had the type of success I would’ve hoped. We’re making strides in other areas; it hasn’t shown up on Sunday and that’s disappointing because I feel for them. That’s what you do it for.”

• Saturday said QB Nick Foles is “really sore, obviously, on the whole side of his body” and will not play in Week 18. (George Bremer)

Texans

• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer mentions Eagles DC Jonathan Gannon, who interviewed with Houston last year, as another candidate to monitor if the Texans have a coaching vacancy yet again this season. 
• Texans HC Lovie Smith on the passing game not working well on Sunday: “We need to give the Jaguars some credit. Pass rush was good, coverage was good. I didn’t think our protection was as good as it needed to be.” (Aaron Wilson)
• Smith on the team’s gameplan: “The plan was to play a lot better than we played today. Defensively, we’ve got to tackle better. That’s been a tough spot for us a lot of the year. We’ve been playing better, but today we didn’t.” (Wilson)
• Smith on his meetings with GM Nick Caserio and CEO Cal McNair: “We meet daily. We all see that better days are ahead.” (Wilson)
• As for the development of the team, Smith said the following: “Where are at growth-wise, we’ve played a lot of young players. Those are the things that keep you going a little bit.” (Wilson)
• Smith on how the season turned out: “Do we feel like we’ve met our goals this season? I think it’s safe to say we haven’t.” (Brooks Kubena)

Titans

Titans HC Mike Vrabel was asked about third-round QB Malik Willis, who was benched by the team for the final two games because they felt career third-string QB Joshua Dobbs gave them a better chance to win.

“The message to Malik is to continue to do what he’s been doing, which is to continue to study, continue to use the practice reps to his advantage to help the game slow down for him,” Vrabel said via Jim Wyatt of the team website.