The Colts Will Defeat the Titans If...

The Indianapolis Colts must accomplish these tasks in order to defend homefield and beat the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.

The Indianapolis Colts host a pivotal home game this Sunday versus the Tennessee Titans. This game is even more important because the entire AFC South is tied at 2-2 and the Colts have another divisional matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars waiting in the wings next week.

This would be a perfect time for the Colts to make a statement to the rest of the league and the division if they can find a way to win both of these games. The task won’t be easy considering the Titans are coming to town riding a five-game win streak over the Colts. However, this is a much different team than the Titans saw last year.

The Colts have a new head coach and a new signal caller that’s going to get their first taste of this rivalry this Sunday. While the Titans are coming off an impressive victory over the Cincinnati Bengals at home, they have looked awful on the road.

This is a prime opportunity for the Colts to break their losing streak against the Titans and reclaim the division lead that they had going into last week.

There are a few things that the Colts can do to secure their first home win of the season.

Protect Anthony Richardson

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The Colts' offensive line was in very bad shape last week against the Los Angeles Rams. While they won’t be at 100% against the Titans, the Colts' front does get a very important piece back in the middle with center Ryan Kelly.

Kelly has been playing outstanding football this season and has returned to his Pro Bowl form in this new Shane Steichen offense. His communication with quarterback Anthony Richardson is a big reason for the Colts’ success so far this season.

The strength of the Titans team is their defensive line anchored by one of the very best in the entire league, Jeffery Simmons, who is having a fantastic season so far, causing havoc in the run and passing games. However, the defensive line will be missing a very important piece, and that’s arguably their best-run defender, Teair Tart. The Colts must exploit that and attack the inside with their run game.

Even without Tart, this Titans team has a slew of bodies that can effectively rush the passer. Harold Landry III and Arden Key are coming off the edge, along with Denico Autry and Simmons up the middle. If the Colts’ O-line can hold up in pass protection, Richardson will have an opportunity to make some plays downfield against this Titans vulnerable secondary.

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Get After Ryan Tannehill

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By far, the weakest unit on the Titans is their offensive line. The Colts' defensive line has done a good job this season of beating up on pretty bad offensive lines when they’ve had the chance. This week must be no different. The Colts will be missing an essential piece in Kwity Paye but have a more than suitable replacement in Dayo Odeyingbo, who’s coming off the best game of his career.

The key will be DeForest Buckner’s health. He was on a pitch count last week and was almost exclusively just used in passing situations, and the Colts missed his presence sorely as they struggled to stop the run and get after the quarterback. What Buckner does in drawing double-teams has allowed other guys like Samson Ebukam and Odeyingbo to get one-on-one situations that they can capitalize on.

Buckner will also be needed in the run game, as we know the Titans are probably going to feature Derrick Henry heavily in this one.

Start Fast

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The Colts fell into a 23-point hole rather quickly last week against the Rams. While they fought their way out, and it was admirable, the team should have never been in that situation in the first place.

The Colts' run-heavy offense is not designed to play from behind, so a fast start is crucial to the game flow for the offense. The defense, however, would benefit from a fast start as well. Not only would it force Tennessee to abandon the thing it likes to do the most, but it also forces Ryan Tannehill to beat you.

Tannehill is averaging under 200 yards passing the ball this season and is unlikely to lead a comeback if the Titans fall behind multiple scores. A start similar to the Houston Texans game would be ideal for the Colts in this one, especially since I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of points scored, period, between these two teams.

This game will be a hard-fought one on both sides between two head coaches I have a tremendous amount of respect for. I’m calling it 20-17 in a real physical defensive game that the Colts win late on a Matt Gay field goal.

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