The Indianapolis Colts established themselves as the dominant force in the AFC South as they beat the Tennessee Titans 34-17 on Thursday night. Philip Rivers completed 29 of 39 passes for 308 yards and a touchdown, and made a clear attempt to spread the wealth, as it is connected to eight different receivers. The running back was definitely important in the passing game, as Nehim Hines and Jonathan Taylor combined for seven catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, and Hines also ran for another y0 yards and a touchdown.
As for the Titans, they actually took a four-point halftime lead. However, their special teams completely derailed the contest in the third quarter, as the Colts exploded in the second half not to score 21 points in the second reply to advance the game. A sneak peek at the score will show you how this went, when the Colts had 430 yards of total offense, while the Titans recorded only 294 total yards.
Why the Colts won
Why did the Colts win? They won because of NC State University! During the shattering moments of Thursday night’s match, Joe Buck of Fox Sports announced this “NC State Night” and that’s right. As we said, Rivers (NC State Elm) threw for 308 yards and a touchdown, backup quarterback Jacob Brisett came to seal the game with a touchdown of two yards and Hines had a total of 115 yards and two touchdowns. While these former NC state players were great, all the weapons of the rivers certainly deserve credit. Rookie wideout was led by Michael Pitman Jr. with seven catches for 101 yards with all catches, and TY Hilton also caught five of his targets in 40 yards.
Why the Titans lost
Leading up to this matchup, we spent a lot of time discussing whether the Titans could have success against the Colts defense in offense or whether the rivers could exploit Tennessee’s secondary, but we forgot to mention special teams! Reserve punter Trevor Daniel and pte kicker Stephen Gostkowski both failed to execute on Thursday night, and that was one big reason the Colts managed to take a 14-0 lead in the third quarter. Daniel hit the punt, blocked for his next touchdown and then missed a 44-yard field goal after Gostkowski scored 50-yard early in the game. Daniel is probably gone after this week, Titans head coach Mike Varabel was asked about the safety of Gostkowski’s job after the game, and he mumbled on the subject – saying the team would have to evaluate every work done.
Turn and play of the game
The Colts jumped on the Titans from the start of the second half. When Jordan Wilkins was on the goal line in the fourth, India turned the ball down on their first possession, Daniel hit the pit which traveled a total of 17 yards on the Titans’ next possession. Since the Colts took charge of the Titans ’27-yard line, Reverse and Co. to take the lead for the first time in that competition.
At this point in the game, the Titans needed to respond, but instead they were three and out and Daniel blocked his punt for a touchdown that extended Indy’s lead to 10 points. That’s right, the Colts scored two touchdowns in 59 seconds of game time.
What’s next
The Colts will return to Indy next week, where they will host the Green Bay Packers next Sunday. The NFC is top in the North with a record of Aaron Rogers and Co. 6-2, and will face rookie quarterbacks Jack Luton and Jacksonville Jaguars this week. The Titans collided on the way to take over the Baltimore Ravens, who they just booted from the playoffs last January. There’s no doubt Lamar Jackson will look to get a little revenge on Tennessee, as he didn’t say this se phison that he thinks about the playoff loss “constantly.” Before he can get a chance at the Titans, however, the Ravens will have to beat the New England Patriots at Foxborough on “Sunday Night Football”.
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