Colts Know 'All Roads Go Through Nashville'

Two straight division titles and four straight wins over the second-place team in both seasons has made Mike Vrabel's team the one to beat in the AFC South.

To borrow a line from your favorite GPS device, “rerouting.”

The road to the top of the AFC South has changed once again. The division was created in 2002, and the Indianapolis Colts finished first in seven of the first eight years, including five straight from 2003-07. More recently, there was no way to get around Houston. The Texans claimed the division title four times in five years from 2015-19.

Now, it is the Tennessee Titans who have come out on top each of the last two years. That has doubled the franchise’s number of AFC South crowns and has made them the target for all of the other teams in the division.

The Colts, who already have dropped a game to the Titans, made it clear as they prepared for Sunday’s game at Nissan Stadium that they were acutely aware of what it takes these days to try to navigate the standings.

“A very good football team,” Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said of the Titans. “Number-one seed last year in the AFC. Obviously, division champs.

“All roads go through Nashville.”

The Colts last won the division in 2014. In the seven seasons since, they finished in second place four times, including each of the last two years, in and third place three times and managed to make the playoffs twice.

Of late, the Titans have become a significant roadblock for them. For the first time since they became division rivals, Tennessee has won four straight (and five of the last six) meetings. Three of those four triumphs have been by seven points or more topped by a 45-26 romp in 2020 that kicked off the streak.

“Obviously knowing Tennessee has run the AFC South the past few years, everything we want to achieve kind of goes through them,” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “Losing two games to them last year obviously killed our hopes of ever competing for that crown.

“Thankfully we have another opportunity against them on Sunday. I know it’s going to be a great battle and we’re looking forward to it.”

This game won’t decide this season’s division race, but one team will emerge as the leader of the pack. The Titans (3-2) currently are alone in first place because of their 24-17 triumph at Indianapolis in Week 4. The Colts are 3-2-1.

“It’s a really good football team in Tennessee,” Colts quarterback Matt Ryan said. “Obviously, they’ve owned the division the last handful of years. It’s a good, physical defense, a physical run game.

“… They are a very balanced team. It’s going to take really good effort from us. We’re going to have to play good football, the kind of football that we envisioned as this team was coming together during the spring. We’re going to have to play clean, we’re going to have to play tough and find a way.”

The Colts have not even tried to pretend that this is just another game on their schedule.

They are the only team in the NFL that has played four division contests in the first six weeks (this will be five of seven). They already have lost to Tennessee and Jacksonville and have tied with Houston.

At 1-2-1, a loss in this one will guarantee them a losing record in division games. No team ever has won the AFC South a losing record in the six games against their rivals. In fact, the 2006 Indianapolis Colts were the only ones to get to the top with a 3-3 mark. All the others were 4-2 or better.

The Titans went 5-1 against the rest of the division en route to its first-place finishes each of the last two seasons.

“They’re the defending AFC South champs. They’re the No. 1 seed in the AFC last year,” Reich said. “They deserve that respect. Mike Vrabel deserves that respect. He’s an excellent football coach. So, hats off to him. He’s done a great job.

“(This game) receives extra attention because they’ve earned it and they have what we (want) and that’s that championship.”