NASHVILLE — The Colts found a way to win on Sunday, separating themselves from the bottom tier of an AFC that has not been very deep to start the season.
A late touchdown catch by Michael Pittman Jr. , an excellent defensive fourth quarter and a gutsy performance gave Indianapolis a 20-17 win over Tennessee despite an underwhelming start by backup quarterback Joe Flacco.
The Colts (3-3) now find themselves two games clear of the Titans and Jaguars (1-5), somehow in the playoff mix despite a rash of injuries and uninspiring play.
Colts score: Titans-Colts game recap: Indianapolis 20, Tennessee 17
Banged-up receivers come up big
Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs are both far from healthy.
Pittman is dealing with a back injury that forced him to undergo an MRI and threatened a stint on injured reserve earlier this week, and Downs missed two practices with a toe injury that clearly bothered him throughout Sunday’s game, forcing him to the sideline to crouch in pain at points.
But both players fought through the pain and came up big for the Colts on Sunday.
Downs wriggled free for a 22-yard touchdown pass on the first Indianapolis drive, then did the dirty work, catching seven passes for 66 yards overall. The second-year receiver also made an impact in the return game, returning four punts for 67 yards, a 16.8-yard average that mattered deeply in a game of field position.
Pittman had to wait a little longer to make his impact.
Bothered by a back injury, Pittman appeared to play fewer than his usual number of snaps, and he was targeted just four times, catching three passes for 35 yards.
Two of those catches ended up being the game-winners.
Facing a third-and-long in the red zone, Flacco threw up a prayer for Pittman in the end zone, a floater that seemed to have little chance of completion until Pittman went up and pulled it down for the go-ahead touchdown.
Pittman then sealed Tennessee’s fate on the final drive, fighting through contact for a 16-yard grab at the two-minute warning to salt the game away.
Colts secondary comes up with big plays in fourth quarter
When Indianapolis finally forced the game into the hands of erratic Tennessee quarterback Will Levis in the fourth quarter, the secondary was ready to capitalize, with a little help from a referee crew that signed off on two plays by Jaylon Jones that had the Nissan Stadium crew begging for a flag.
Indianapolis forced a three-and-out to open the quarter on a critical run stop by Laiatu Latu.
Then the Colts responded to Pittman’s touchdown catch with another three-and-out, this time on the first breakup by Jones.
The next time the Titans had the ball, the Colts took advantage of the first deep ball Levis threw all day. Levis floated the deep ball down the sideline due to pressure from Dayo Odeyingbo, and a ranging Julian Blackmon — who’d missed an early chance at an interception — made the pick, ripping away the ball.
Indianapolis had trouble adding onto the lead, but Jones broke up another play to DeAndre Hopkins on the sideline. Levis finished just 15 of 26 for 83 yards, never found the deep ball and couldn’t come up with the big play late.
Titans try to grind it out
Tennessee’s game plan was easy to identify.
Fed up with Levis’ penchant for taking sacks and coughing up the football through the first four games of the season, the Titans wanted to keep the game out of his hands as much as possible. Tennessee built its game plan around the running game and short passes that essentially served as extended handoffs.
The Indianapolis defense didn’t do much of anything to force the Titans to put the ball in their young quarterback’s hands for three quarters.
Neither member of Tennessee’s running back tandem entered Sunday’s game averaging more than four yards per carry, but the Titans ground out yards against a bad Indianapolis rush defense.
Tony Pollard rushed 17 times for 93 yards. Tyjae Spears added 27 yards on six carries before leaving with a hamstring injury. The Titans weren’t explosive, but they kept churning out first downs, putting together scoring drives of 15 and 14 plays, respectively, in the second half.
The approach produced points.
It also kept Levis from making a critical mistake. Levis fumbled three times, threw six interceptions and took 15 sacks in the first four games; Indianapolis did not force a turnover until the Colts were able to put the game in his hands in the fourth quarter.
Anthony Richardson sits again
Richardson seemed optimistic this week.
When he spoke to reporters on Wednesday, the second-year starting quarterback believed he’d made significant strides, saying he could handle the running and passing necessary to play, although he stopped short of promising he’d play against the Titans.
Richardson was limited in practice on Wednesday, then practiced in full on Thursday and seemed headed for the lineup.
But he was pulled back to limited participation on Friday, announced as a game-time decision and then ruled out officially with only an hour and a half before kickoff. Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen told CBS that Richardson would serve as the team’s emergency quarterback, signaling that the young starter is close to a return, but the Colts did not want to put him in harm’s way until he was fully healthy.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How the Colts edged the Titans on Michael Pittman TD, even record at 3-3
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