The Indianapolis Colts traveled to Nashville for a date with the Tennessee Titans at high noon. On a day when the Titans inducted Bum Phillips into their Ring of Honor, a weird game ensued that saw the Titans survive three turnovers against a quarterback that was playing with two sprained ankles in Carson Wentz. Despite having success running the ball (Jonathan Taylor averaged 6.4 yards per carry; Nyheim Hines averaged 4.2), the Colts attempted 37 passes. Spoiler alert, folks – that was not a recipe for success for the Colts. The Titans offense did their part to give the Colts a chance to steal this one, but when it mattered most, they were able to punch it in. That’s, in large part, thanks to the best defensive effort of the season for his squad. They tacked on two more sacks to their season total (seven), broke up five passes, and hit Wentz a total of 10 times.
Takeaways
- From the jump, I thought the Titans did a great job of playing aggressively and physically. I noticed Dane Cruikshank and Kristian Fulton delivering some big, hard hits. On offense, Tory Carter saw his first NFL action, and I noticed him throwing his body at a Colts defender like a missile, popping a block for Derrick Henry in the process. While I don’t think the Colts necessarily shied away from that intensity, the Titans did a masterful job of physically being the better team. This team is beginning to take that physicality on as a key component of their identity.
- The turnovers – Yikes. Ryan Tannehill had what looked like a really bad interception to Darius Leonard. I say ‘what looked like’ because I’m not sure where Tannehill’s receivers were supposed to be on that play, and if that one was squarely on the quarterback or not. On another one, he threw it into what Mike Vrabel called “a pep rally.” The ball popped up into the air because “we’re trying to catch balls with our shoulder pads,” according to Vrabel. Then, after an impressive catch and run, Nick Westbrook-Ikhine fumbled. Tannehill threw another dangerous pass that could’ve been intercepted had Kenny Moore gone for the ball and not the tackle on the play. That is sloppy play and bad decision-making that will HAVE to be cleaned up as the season goes on. A better opponent, or hell…even this opponent with a healthy quarterback…might’ve led to a different outcome for this one.
- Much was made of Julio Jones sitting on the sideline for the end of this game with no news on an injury. Vrabel was asked about this in the postgame press conference and essentially said they were managing that situation based on how the game was going – they were “trying to manage a season.” Look – this is just me recklessly speculating, but while I don’t think Vrabel is going to come out and say “we didn’t think we needed Julio to win this game, so we gave him some rest since this is a long season, guys,” I do think that’s closer to the truth than what was said in that presser. So, I’m not necessarily concerned about Jones. AJ Brown on the other hand? Well, we’ll just have to see how that situation plays out this week.
- We are a game and a half into this Titans pass rush being pretty good. Again, it’s worth repeating that playing a quarterback with two bum ankles probably helps, but all in all, this front has gotten good at generating pressure. Bud Dupree didn’t even play, but was “there in case of emergency” according to Vrabel.
- I absolutely love how Derrick Henry continues to evolve his game. He spent time focusing on his pass-catching ability this offseason, and it’s clearly paying off as he is making defenses pay in the passing game.
- A lot of often-unheralded guys stepped up in this one – Westbrook-Ikhine had a big touchdown. Jeremy McNichols helped to put the game away with his receiving touchdown. Breon Borders came in for a couple of plays when Fulton was out with an injury. The Colts threw at him twice and were not successful either time. Carter played well. Ola Adeniyi continues to step up on defense after being widely considered a special teams addition in the offseason. He now has 2.5 sacks in the last two games. This is a testament to how deep and talented this Titans roster is.
Game Balls
- Offense: Ryan Tannehill – I chewed on this one a little bit because of the turnovers, but ultimately decided to go for it because of the gutsy game he played overall. He was absolutely a factor with his legs, made good throws that were outshined by the turnovers, and you just love the moxie of this guy to be able to quickly shake those interceptions off and never lose confidence. Big time BDE game for Tannehill.
- Offense: Taylor Lewan – A major bounce-back game for Lewan after that atrocious season opener. You just love to see it. He was out there slinging dudes down and playing with fire. He played a key role in getting the big holes opened up in the run game, as Henry was most successful running left today. #RunLeft
- Defense: Kristian Fulton – Fulton has been the defensive MVP of this season so far, which I don’t think any of us saw coming. He did give up a big play to Zach Pascal (the play he was injured on, I believe). But, he was great in coverage, brought heat on Jack Doyle on a play early in the game that forced an incompletion, pressured Wentz and forced him to sail a ball five feet over Michael Pittman Jr.‘s head, made a good tackle on Hines to keep him in bounds and keep the clock running late in the game, and made a tough tackle by a yard to keep the Colts from converting a 3rd down. He was outstanding yet again.
- Defense: Ola Adeniyi – Good for Adeniyi. Dude was signed to bolster special teams, but has been an absolute factor in the pass rush on defense oin the last two games. He now has 2.5 sacks in the last two games, and on a day when they needed it, no less.
- Defense: Harold Landry – Landry feels like a perennially under-appreciated player, but a lot of the pressure he generates isn’t going to show up in the box score. He was absolutely a force today – registering 0.5 sacks and five quarterback hits. Give this man his flowers every once in awhile.
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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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