The Indianapolis Colts hosted the Tennessee Titans, Oct. 2, for their fourth game and second home game of the young season. The Colts led the series all-time coming into the matchup, with a 35-20 historical record.

The Titans had won the previous three games. The Colts came into the week at 1-1-1, while the Titans carried a record of 1-2. The Colts were favored by -3.5 to win the game.

Tennessee held on through some late-game drama for a 24-17 victory. The Colts, after receiving the opening kickoff, got the ball to midfield before Matt Ryan was sacked, losing a fumble that was his eighth of the young season. Tennessee, given the short field, got into the end zone a few plays later. The Colts responded with a quick three-and-out, then the Titans drove down the field and Derrick Henry punched it in to give them a 14-0 lead.

Indianapolis wasn’t able to move the ball across after getting their drive to the Titans’ four-yard line, and kicked a chip-shot field goal. The Titans then responded with a field goal of their own, but Matt Ryan threw an interception on the first play, and Tennessee again took advantage of a short field and scored, making it 24-3. Shaquille Leonard, who was making his season debut, suffered a concussion on the touchdown play, and was later ruled out for the rest of the game. Indianapolis finally got into the end zone just before the two-minute warning on a Mo Alie-Cox touchdown, his first of the year. It appeared that the Titans would get at least some points before the end of the half, but a big tackle on Ryan Tannehill brought up fourth down, and the field goal unit was unable to get on the field before the half ended. 

The Colts, with all the momentum coming out of halftime, forced a quick three-and-out before driving 67 yards down the field and getting Alie-Cox his second touchdown of the game, bringing the score to 24-17. The Titans came back with another quick punt, and the Colts got the ball to the Titans’ 39-yard line, but it was deemed too far for a Chase McLaughlin field goal, and they punted instead. Tennessee responded with yet another three-and-out, but a promising-looking Indianapolis drive was cut short when Jonathan Taylor fumbled in the middle of a pileup. After a Titans punt, the Colts moved the ball down the field again, in large part due to a 44-yard Alec Pierce reception, but the drive stalled and McLaughlin missed a long field goal. Tennessee picked up a clutch 3rd down conversion, which salted the game away. 

Matt Ryan, after having an abysmal first quarter, caught his stride and threw 27-37 for 356 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception. Jonathan Taylor got 20 carries, but only gained 42 yards. It seemed once again like the fault of his offensive line, as he was often hit in the backfield. Mo Alie-Cox was the receiving star of the game, with 6 catches for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns. The other tight end, Kylen Granson, also looked strong with a few great catches on his way to 62 receiving yards. For the Titans, Ryan Tannehill wasn’t overly productive, throwing for 137 yards. Derrick Henry had a pretty strong game besides being stymied in the second half, ending up with 22 carries and 114 yards with a touchdown. 

Final: TEN 24-17 IND

Analysis

The loss was palatable as a fan, but was easily preventable. The first quarter-and-a-half was filled with mistakes, and essentially put the game out of reach. The comeback effort was valiant after going down 24-3, but for various reasons, it proved not enough. The run game is definitely lacking for a team that places their identity in it. Through no fault of Taylor, the rushing attack has been inefficient to say the least. Taking a fourth consecutive loss to the Titans hurts. The tight end group for the Colts was the biggest bright spot to take away from this game, as both Mo Alie-Cox and Kylen Granson looked fantastic, and Granson even had a few terrific catches. Despite the bright spots, the Colts obviously have several things to fix, the most notable among those being Matt Ryan’s turnovers and the inefficient running game. 

Around the Division

The Texans mounted a second-half comeback after going down 21-0 against the Los Angeles Chargers, but the Chargers pulled out a 34-24 win. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars, after surprising the Philadelphia Eagles early, 29-21. With their loss, the Jaguars move into a tie with the Titans for the AFC South lead at 2-2, while the Colts stay one game ahead of the Texans, who fall to 0-3-1. 

Looking Ahead

The Colts face a short week to try to make changes before they travel to the Rockies to face the Broncos on Thursday Night Football. The Broncos are 2-1 and play the Raiders Sunday afternoon. They open as 2.5-point favorites for Thursday Night Football. The Colts will once again play a game that feels like a must-win this early in the season, against a beatable team, already behind the metaphorical eight-ball in the division.

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