Clutch fourth quarter performances in all three phases propelled the Colts to a 3-3 record as they took down the Titans 20-17 on the road. After dropping their first two divisional games, Indy earned its first AFC South win of the year.
As has been the case all season, the victory did not come easy. But, timely plays made it impossible for the Titans to mount a comeback.
“A gritty, gritty, gritty team win,” head coach Shane Steichen said after the game.
There were tenacious plays made in all three phases, but none greater than what Michael Pittman Jr. did while fighting through a back injury. On third-and-goal, Joe Flacco floated a jump ball towards Pittman, who climbed the ladder and made a physical, above-the-rim grab to give Indy the lead.
“He’s a warrior,” Steichen said, adding that Pittman is the toughest guy he’s ever been around. “He’s going to give it everything he has, that’s how he rolls.”
Pittman wasn’t the usual reception machine he’s become in the Colts’ offense, but he made the big play when it mattered.
The defense would struggle in the early going. But after starting the second half by allowing Tennessee to burn 8:41 worth of game clock on their way to a 17-10 lead, things changed.
Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley, with pressure to deliver mounting, would orchestrate two stops, resulting in punts. The offense would score the go-ahead touchdown and take the lead with 7:27 to play.
For Bradley, the secondary has been a weak point this season. But not this Sunday.
Jaylon Jones and Sam Womack were feisty and aggressive in coverage, forcing drive-ending incompletions while keeping Will Levis to just 95 passing yards on the day. Julian Blackmon added an interception late as well, adding the exclamation point to a successful day in pass defense.
Ultimately, it was special teams which sealed the deal. It’s not often a punter makes a game-sealing play, but it happened for Rigoberto Sanchez.
With 22 seconds to play, Sanchez struck a beauty of a punt. As Tennessee sold out for the block, Sanchez managed to stick it inside the 5-yard line, before taking a friendly bounce out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
“That punt was big time,” Steichen said. “He couldn’t have done it any better.”
Sanchez’s timely piece of brilliance left Levis and the Titans offense no chance to get into field-goal range for an attempt to tie the game as the Colts clinched an important win in the AFC South.
Halfway through their six division games, the Colts are 1-2, with a rematch of opening day on the road against the Texans in two weeks.
But before that, Indianapolis will head back to Lucas Oil Stadium, where they’ll host a Dolphins team coming off their bye week.
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