INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTVF) — The Titans came to Lucas Oil Stadium Sunday hoping to be a roadblock to the Colts' playoff hopes and build some late-seasonn positive momentum. Instead, they got run over on a historically bad day for the defense, and a late rally fell short 38-30.
In a season full of losses this was another moment where things snowballed against the Titans and they couldn’t stem the tide before it was too late.
Newly named quarterback Mason Rudolph started sharp, throwing a beautiful ball to Calvin Ridley for a 38-yard touchdown on the game’s second series. The Titans looked to build on that momentum after Amani Hooker’s red zone interception of Anthony Richardson, but on the ensuing drive, Rudolph had his third down pass batted down at the line of scrimmage. Then newly signed kicker Brayden Narveson, who kicked in place of an injured Nick Folk, came up short on a 53-yard field goal.
The Colts then decided to go right at the Titans' defense with a punishing rushing attack. Jonathan Taylor capped a six-play, 57-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown run to tie the game 7-7.
After a bomb to Ridley was called back, the Titans were forced to punt on their next possession, and the Colts went back to work in the trenches. This time, they went 80 yards in four plays, with Taylor cutting back and finding open space for an electrifying 65-yard score.
All 10 plays of those two drives were runs and the Titans had no answers or adjustments. In all, the Colts ran the ball 18 of their final 20 plays of the first half, scoring on all four possessions while building a 24-7 halftime lead.
And they were not done. On the first play of the second half, Taylor broke free off the left edge of the line and outran the entire Tennessee defense for a 70-yard touchdown.
Taylor finished the game with 218 yards rushing and three touchdowns. The Colts ran for a franchise record 335 yards, which is also the most the Titans have given up since the franchise moved to Tennessee.
It is the second time in four weeks a once proud run defense has been gashed by an opponent's running game. The Commanders ran for 267 in their win over the Titans on Dec. 1st.
The Titans rallied with touchdowns on three straight possessions in the second half. A healthy Tyjae Spears continued to be a late-season bright spot with two touchdown runs sandwiched around Nick Westbrook-Ikhine's ninth touchdown reception of the season. A two-point conversion pass to Chig Okonkwo pulled them within eight with 2:53 to go.
Brian Callahan had all three timeouts and the 2:00 warning at his disposal, but once again the defense couldn't get a stop, allowing Richardson to convert a pair of third downs, one with his legs and another with a pass to Michael Pittman to all but run out the clock.
Rudolph finished the game with a desperate heave that turned into his third interception, but the veteran also threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Titans to just their third 30-point performance over the past three seasons. Rudolph also led the Titans to one of the others in their week four win at Miami.
It was far from perfect, but it gave the Titans a chance in a game that had gotten away from them like so many have this year.
Turnovers, penalties, and mistakes have all been common themes in the losses this year and, lately, so too, has been a faltering run defense.
A strength for Mike Vrabel's teams is now another cause for concern for the new regime. And the Titans are running out of opportunities to provide a glimmer of optimism for the future with just two games left, at Jacksonville next week and one against the Texans in the season finale.
If you have more information about this story, please email me at Steve.Layman@newschannel5.com.
