Recap: Tennessee Titans beat Indianapolis Colts, break losing streaks
The Tennessee Titans broke an 11-game losing streak against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football with a solid 36-22 win.
It certainly wasn’t perfect or flawless, but the Tennessee Titans walked away from Monday Night Football with a win and a place atop the AFC South after two-consecutive losses. And they did so against a divisional opponent in the Indianapolis Colts, a team they hadn’t beaten since 2011. The first half was frustrating, but the second half was a cathartic experience.
The Titans welcomed back their franchise quarterback, Marcus Mariota, for this game. It was likely he would be limited, but he was perhaps more limited than expected. Mariota really couldn’t move all that much and was confined to the pocket, but he did damage from his stationary position. The Flyin’ Hawaiian completed 23 of 32 passes for 306 yards and a touchdown.
Sporting all-navy uniforms, the Titans got the ball first and quickly moved down the field before settling for three points. Ryan Succop’s 48-yard field goal was historic, as it set the record for most-consecutive field goals (47) from under 50 yards. The Colts responded with a field goal of their own, as did the Titans following the response.
Tennessee Titans
To start the second quarter, Colts QB Jacoby Brissett started to get into a rhythm. He picked apart a Titans defense that wasn’t getting pressure and was backing off receivers, leading the Colts to six points with a touchdown pass to tight end Jack Doyle, who we’ve heard enough about. The Titans retaliated with a field goal and the Colts responded with one of their own before halftime.
As both teams went into halftime with the Colts leading 13-9, the Titans hot takes went flying (I’m guilty of it myself). The Titans couldn’t put the ball in the end zone and the defense couldn’t stop a nose bleed. But something changed in the second half.
The second half didn’t start all that well on offense, with Mariota throwing a pick-six on his first pass of the half, but the defense forced two three-and-outs in a row, forced a fumble and then got another three-and-out. Much-maligned defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau came out with a very specific plan after halftime that worked wonders: blitz the hell out of Brissett and an undermanned offensive line. The defense also benefited from the Titans playing fantastic in pass coverage, particularly cornerbacks Logan Ryan and Adoree’ Jackson. Ryan gave up just one catch in his coverage and Jackson just two.
After settling for two more field goals in the third quarter, the Titans started hitting big plays. WRs Rishard Matthews and Eric Decker broke off some chunk plays in the passing game and RB DeMarco Murray was efficient on the ground and through the air. A short Murray touchdown run gave the Titans a short-lived three-point lead that was leveled by a 51-yard Adam Vinatieri field goal.
And then came the defining play.
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After two throws for a first down to Decker, the Titans sent rookie WR Taywan Taylor on a deep route. Taylor sold the inside and blew by rookie safety Malik Hooker to the outside, where Mariota hit him in stride for a picture-perfect 53-yard touchdown.
On the Colts’ next possession, they drove down the field with help from a couple of calls going against the Titans, but Wesley Woodyard, who is having a Pro Bowl-type season, stopped Brissett short on a QB boot on fourth-and-one.
With just over two minutes left in the game, RB Derrick Henry melted the clock with runs of two, eight, one and four yards. Then on what would’ve been the final offensive play, on third-and-five, Henry took an outside run and exploded down the sideline, cut inside and took it 72 yards to the house in vintage Heisman-Henry-at-Alabama fashion.
The Titans weren’t exactly dominant in this one, but their second half performance is incredibly encouraging. And they did it with a hobble Mariota, who gutted it out to get his team a win and on the right direction. The Titans are now 3-3 and in first place in the AFC South.
A trip to Cleveland looms to take on the winless Browns before the bye week.