Three Keys to a Titans Victory Over Colts

Indianapolis comes to town with one of the NFL's best run defenses and an aging, quick-thinking quarterback.

NASHVILLE – It is a matchup better suited to Sunday night, the marquee slot on the NFL’s broadcast schedule.

Instead, the Tennessee Titans (6-2) host the Indianapolis Colts (5-3) on Thursday night in a matchup that will play a significant role in determining what team ultimately wins the AFC South.

If the Titans win, they will have a two-game lead over the Colts and a clear path to the title (they have not won the division since 2008). If they lose, they will be tied for first and on the wrong side of a head-to-head tiebreaker with the return match at Indianapolis a little more than two weeks down the road.

With that in mind, here are three keys to a Tennessee victory on Thursday:

Run the ball: It is easier said than done against Indianapolis, which has the AFC’s best run defense (third in the NFL) at 83.6 yards-per-game allowed. Only four teams have managed at least 90 yards rushing against the Colts, and three of them – Jacksonville, Cleveland and Baltimore – are the teams that have beaten the Colts. Baltimore averaged 2.9 yards-per-carry on Sunday but ran it 38 times and had nine first downs rushing, both season-highs against that defense. No one has averaged four yards or more per carry against Indianapolis since Week 2, and that defense is one of just seven in the NFL that has yet to allow a gain of 30 yards or more on the ground. It likely won’t be pretty when the Titans run, but it is essential that they don’t stop.

Do it again, defense: Sunday’s victory against Chicago was a breakthrough for the defense, which registered a season-high three sacks. Or was it? The Bears were playing reserves, including a couple of third-string guys, at the majority of their offensive line spots and the Titans took advantage in a way they failed to do week earlier against a similarly depleted Cincinnati unit. The Colts have an elite offensive line that has allowed a league-low eight sacks. Quarterback Philip Rivers deserves part of the credit for his decision-making, but in his 17th NFL season he is also not interested in taking a lot of hits. Three sacks would be huge in this game. A more realistic goal is to get consistent pressure on Rivers and force him to get rid of the ball even quicker than he would like.

Score first: Last year against Jacksonville on a Thursday night, the Titans fell behind 14-0 fewer than 10 minutes into the game. They never recovered and lost 20-7. A year earlier, again against Jacksonville, Tennessee scored on its opening possession, led 16-2 at halftime and cruised to a 30-9 triumph. It has been shown that it is difficult to come from behind after a short week of preparation, and the Titans are no exception. Each of the last four years when they have played on Thursday night, the team that scored first won, typically by a wide margin. 


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David Boclair
DAVID BOCLAIR

David Boclair has covered the Tennessee Titans for multiple news outlets since 1998. He is award-winning journalist who has covered a wide range of topics in Middle Tennessee as well as Dallas-Fort Worth, where he worked for three different newspapers from 1987-96. As a student journalist at Southern Methodist University he covered the NCAA's decision to impose the so-called death penalty on the school's football program.