Cheers & Jeers: Colts-Titans

In deference to oft-uttered coach speak, the Indianapolis Colts did make key plays in all three phases in Thursday’s win over the Titans.

After their most disappointing offensive effort of the season just four days before, the Indianapolis Colts surged in the second half to give their fans plenty to cheer about in Thursday night’s 34-17 road win over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

There are always positive and negatives in each game, but the Colts outscored the Titans 21-0 in the second half to pull even in first place in the AFC South Division. The best part about the Colts’ 10th win in 12 trips to Nashville is they have the tiebreaker edge on the Titans, although the two teams will have a rematch in two weeks at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The outcome was a dramatic reversal from Sunday, when the Colts failed to score in the second half of a 24-10 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s more cheers than jeers in Week 10.

Cheers

— E.J. Speed blocked a punt and T.J. Carrie returned it 6 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. The Colts lead the NFL with five TDs scored on either special teams or defense. They’ve returned three interceptions for touchdowns as well as a kickoff return. It’s the Colts’ first blocked punt since 2017.

— Carrie has one of the three interception-return scores. He’s the first NFL player to have an INT TD and punt-block TD return in a season since Antonio Allen in 2013.

— The Colts No. 1-ranked defense didn’t allow a point in the second half.

— The Colts went mostly no-huddle with quarterback Philip Rivers and outgained the Titans 430-294 in total yards.

— Rivers surpassed Hall of Famer Dan Marino (61,361 yards) for fifth on the NFL’s career passing yards list.

— Running back Nyheim Hines celebrated his 24th birthday with a career-high 115 total yards, 70 rushing and 45 receiving. The third-year pro scored a TD on a catch and a rush for his third multi-score game of the season. It’s the second time he’s run for a TD and caught a TD pass in the same game this season, and he’s the only NFL player to do it twice. The last Colts player to accomplish this was running back Joseph Addai in two 2009 games.

— And here’s one more candle on Hines’ birthday cake. According to NFL Research, Hines is just the second player since 1948 to have his first career 100-plus scrimmage yards and two-plus touchdowns in a game on a birthday. The only other one was Samkon Gado in 2005.

— Rookie wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. had seven receptions for a career-101 yards, including a long gain of 40 yards, all career bests in his young career. He also had a 21-yard rush.

— Linebacker Darius Leonard had a game-high nine total tackles.

— Defensive tackle Grover Stewart had five tackles, including three solos, and one for a loss.

— Defensive tackle/defensive end Denico Autry had the Colts’ only sack, his third consecutive game with at least one sack. He has four in that span. He finished with four tackles, two solos, and one tackle for loss.

— Rookie kicker Rodrigo Blankenship made field goals of 24 and 43 yards. He’s made 12 consecutive field-goal attempts.

— Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner had three of the team’s five quarterback hits.

— The Colts rushed for 133 yards on 29 carries (4.6 yards per carry).

— Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett provided the final score on a 2-yard sneak in the fourth quarter.

— The Colts defense limited Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill to just 147 passing yards, and just 88 after the opening series.

— The Colts converted three-of-five fourth downs (60%) and were three-of-six in the red zone (50%).

— Rookie safety Julian Blackmon had four tackles, including a backfield stop of Titans running back Derrick Henry for a four-yard loss on a first-quarter rush.

— The Colts improved to 4-0 when Rivers doesn’t have a turnover.

Jeers

— Defensive end Justin Houston didn’t have a tackle for the third time in four games. He has only one tackle in his last four starts.

— The Colts offense still struggled on third down, converting just four-of-12 (33.3%).

— The offense still had issues in short yardage, specifically failing to score from the 1-yard line on back-to-back rushes in the third quarter.

— Henry rushed for 103 yards on 19 carries (5.4 yards per carry). The Titans finished with 157 yards rushing on 32 carries (4.9 yards per carry).

— The Colts were penalized nine times for 73 yards.

— Colts defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad was ejected for throwing a punch.

— Leonard was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct after shoving Tannehill to the ground when the quarterback was already out of bounds.

— The Titans drove 67 yards in six plays to score the game’s first touchdown on the opening possession.

— Rookie running back Jonathan Taylor rushed for just 12 yards in seven carries (1.7 yards per carry).

(Phillip B. Wilson has covered the Indianapolis Colts for more than two decades and authored the 2013 book 100 Things Colts Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. He’s on Twitter @pwilson24, on Facebook at @allcoltswithphilb and @100thingscoltsfans, and his email is phillipbwilson24@yahoo.com.)