INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTVF) — Do not ask the Titans about their second half offensive woes. Those are questions that must be addressed but can wait after the Titans held on to beat the Colts 24-17 in Indianapolis Sunday.
A week after racing out to a 24-10 lead against the Raiders in a game they ultimately won 24-22, the Titans got off to a near-perfect start against their AFC South rivals.
Denico Autry forced a Matt Ryan fumble during a sack on the game's opening possession to set Tennessee up with a short field, and Ryan Tannehill hit Robert Woods for a quick 7-0 lead. It was the first touchdown for Woods as a Titan and the first of four straight scoring drives by the Titans to start the game.
In his first game back at Lucas Oil Stadium after breaking his foot last year, Derrick Henry ran for 99 of his season-high 114 yards in the first half. His 19-yard touchdown gave the visitors a 14-0 first quarter lead. He nearly had another touchdown on a spectacular cutback in the second quarter, but it was called back by a holding penalty.
It didn't matter because just a few plays later, Tannehill stepped up in the pocket to hit rookie Chig Okonkwo for his first career touchdown as the Titans built a 24-3 lead.
Indianapolis cut it to 24-10 on the first of two touchdown passes from Ryan to tight end Mo Alie-Cox, but Tennessee should've been able to build on that margin with the first half's final possession. Instead, Treylon Burks was unable to get out of bounds on a second down pass, forcing Mike Vrabel to use his final timeout. Then Tannehill's third down scramble came up short of the line to gain, so the Titans couldn't spike it to stop the clock because it was fourth down and the field goal team couldn't come on in time to get a snap off.
It was embarrassing clock management and a horrible end to an otherwise brilliant half of complimentary football. Unfortunately, it was a sign of things to come in the second half as the offense bogged down, mustering just three total first downs.
But after the Colts pulled within 24-17, the defense stood tall to pitch a shutout in the fourth quarter. Another Autry hit on Ryan forced another fumble, which was recovered by Indianapolis but led to a punt. New linebacker Joe Schobert popped the ball free from Jonathan Taylor on a third and short, and Kristian Fulton scooped up the loose ball for the Titans' third takeaway of the afternoon.
Then, on the Colts' final possession, it was Autry that came through again, sacking Ryan for a second time and forcing his old team into a long field goal that missed. That allowed the Titans offense to run out the clock on a big division win.
And that's the point that should not be lost amidst the frustrations of another second half shutout. The Titans have completely turned around their fortunes against these Colts. After losing their first nine games — and 10 of the first 11 they played inside Lucas Oil Stadium — the Titans have now won four in a row, all with Tannehill under center.
And after an 0-2 start to a season full of injuries and adversity, the Titans are now back level at 2-2 and tied with the Jaguars atop the AFC South, very much in a position to make a run at a third consecutive division title.
They will need to get healthy, with star pass rusher Bud Dupree and Burks being the latest two players to leave a game with injuries. They'll have to keep finding guys like Schobert and Andrew Adams, who started at safety, to step in and contribute.
And they'll need to figure out what's gone wrong in the second half. On Sunday they managed just 28 yards in the final two quarters as they were shut out in the second half for the third consecutive game.
Maybe next week in Washington they should leave the offense out on the field at halftime to try to switch up the mojo because that type of drop-off isn't conducive to winning football games.
But these Titans are starting to find ways to win, much like previous Mike Vrabel teams have. And that's enough for now.
