To Ben Arthur
FOX Sports AFC South Lighter
INDIANAPOLIS — Defeating the Tennessee Titans drained Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.
After a late September loss to the Titans last season, with the Colts going 0-3, he held a meeting with his entire coaching staff and front office to challenge coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard.
“It’s all about Tennessee,” Irsay said during a joint practice with the Detroit Lions in August when talking about the importance of winning the AFC South. repeatedly tweeted that Colts fans needed to shout at Lucas Oil Stadium.
all that? Not enough.
The Titans still dominate the rivalry in this division.
Tennessee (2-2) pulled off a 24-17 victory over Indianapolis (1-2-1) on Sunday despite a struggling second half and ending the game with 14 unanswered points. . After the game ended, boos rained down on Lucas Oil Stadium.
Derrick Henry carrying the Titans
Derrick Henry rushed for 114 yards and one touchdown in Tennessee’s victory over Indianapolis.
This marked the Titans’ fourth straight victory over the Colts and their fourth straight win at Indianapolis.
The Titans have not lost to the Colts since Week 10 of the 2020 season.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of 21 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns. “It’s good for the Titans to play with a good team here for several years in a row and win.”
To take the win, the Titans overcame the 3rd and 4th quarter woes that plagued them early in the season.
A sack by Colts defensive end Quitty Pay in the third and eighth from the Tennessee 33 with 5:44 remaining forced a fourth consecutive Titans punt. But after a 44-yard reception by rookie receiver Alec Pearce put Indianapolis just outside the red zone, the Colts were in scoring position after Titans defensive lineman Denico Autry (former Colt ) sacked Matt Ryan on third down.
Titans beat Colts again
Mark Schlereth and Adam Amin were instrumental in Tennessee’s 24-17 victory over Indianapolis.
Trailing 24-17, the Colts opted for a 51-yard field goal instead of scoring with 2:10 remaining. Kicker Chase McLaughlin came off the left flank.
Indianapolis never got the ball back and Tennessee took the game clinch first at the 1:42 mark.
“It’s always good to come back here and kick a little butt,” said Autry, who had two sacks, three quarterback hits, a forced fumble and a tackle-for-loss. rice field.
In many ways, Titans and Colts are built the same way. Both have invested heavily in trenches. Both want to impose their will in a physical running game. Both have superstar running backs.
On Sunday, the Titans were better in games that both teams wanted to play.
Derrick Henry posted his first 100-yard rushing game of the season with 22 carries for 114 yards and a touchdown. Of those yards, 99 came in the first half. His score came on a 19-yard run in the first quarter after cornerback Brandon Fascison took a bad angle to Henry’s leg and blew out a tackle.
“We have to do better”
Derrick Henry thinks the Titans have a lot of room for improvement despite their win over the Colts.
The Titans’ three takeaways were at the line of scrimmage. On his drive in the Colts’ opening, Autry blew out his 4th inning All-Pro left guard for the Colts, Quenton his Nelson, who was strip-sacked Ryan. In the second quarter, the defensive lineman his Teair Tart fought his Ryan pass and the ball got caught in his arm when he fell backwards.
The last one was the most important. In the crucial third-and-two just outside the red zone in the fourth quarter, Titans linebacker Joe Shobert forced a fumble on a carry by Jonathan Taylor.
Taylor, who rushed to the Triple Crown last season, was held to 42 yards on 20 carries. The two turnovers are credited to Ryan with two fumbles in the game and currently a maximum of nine on the season. He hit as many as five as Tennessee capitalized on an offensive line that continued to fall short of his expectations.
Titans safety Kevin Byard said: “I’m really happy to win. “It’s hard to win in this league, especially against a team like the Colts. They’re a good team. And they play four quarters. I knew it would end up being a one-possession game..”
These Titans are currently on a two-game winning streak. Nothing about it seemed easy. No score in the second half from the first week.
But they handled Sunday business on the road in the department.
“I know what the ideal is. To win. I don’t really care how it goes,” Tannehill said. “Our job is to win. It doesn’t matter if it’s ‘ugly’ or ‘pretty’. AW is W. … Not every game is perfect.”
It’s another bitter Sunday for the Colts.
“Hats off to the Titans,” said Colts manager Frank Reich. “They came in and played a good game and were well coached. When you start the way we did, losing the turnover battle like we did, it’s hard to win games. And it’s not enough… I’m proud to fight back and give it a chance in the end, but in the end it wasn’t good enough.
“We have to put this on the back burner.”
Ben Arthur is FOX Sports’ AFC South reporter. He previously worked for The Tennessean/USA TODAY Network, where for a year and a half he was the writer for Beat Titans. He covered the Seattle Seahawks on SeattlePI.com for his three seasons (2018-20) before moving to Tennessee. You can follow Ben on his Twitter. @benyarthur.
Enjoy more National Football League Follow your favorites to stay informed about games, news and more