Colts vs. Titans: Highlights, game tracker and more

The Indianapolis Colts faced the Tennessee Titans on Monday, Oct. 16 in Week 6 of the 2017 NFL season. Here are highlights from the game.

It was an AFC South showdown on Monday Night Football. The Tennessee Titans hosted the Indianapolis Colts as each team tried to stay in the incredibly tight race for the division title. One thing both these franchises have in common is their need to rely on backup quarterbacks early in the year. However, Tennessee got their starter back with Marcus Mariota returning in this game.

Defense was most certainly not the name of the game starting out on Monday night in Nashville. The Titans came out and drove into field goal range, which Ryan Succop converted. However, the Colts answered with a field goal of their own before Tennessee then added another. However, Jacoby Brissett and the Colts offense then pulled ahead with a nine-play drive that culminated in a touchdown pass to Jack Doyle.

However, the Titans stayed driving as they went 72 yards on their next drive, but still were unable to find the end zone. Succop, however, converted his third field goal of the first half, but Indianapolis answered again just before halftime to make it 13-9 in favor of the visiting team going into the locker room.

We finally saw the first punt of the night right out of halftime as the Titans defense stepped up in a big way. However, Mariota did the exact opposite of take advantage. On the first play of the ensuing Tennessee drive, he threw a low pass that was picked out of the air by John Simon and taken to the house for a Colts touchdown, but they missed the extra point.

Staying with the trend, the Tennessee offense kicked yet another field goal on the next drive, which then led to a three-and-out for each team. When Indy got the ball back, though, Doyle made a costly error with the game at 19-12 as Wesley Woodyard forced the ball loose and recovered. That led to another Titans field goal to pull them within four points.

Again the Tennessee defense came up with a three-and-out stop, and the offense finally got more than three points. Putting together a methodical 15-play, 87-yard drive, DeMarco Murray punctuated it and gave the home team the lead with a three-yard rushing score. Indy answered with a field goal, but the Titans were in a groove.

On the next drive for the home team, they found paydirt again with a 53-yard bomb to Taywan Taylor for a score and the 29-22 lead. The defense then stepped up again to force a turnover on downs and thwart a long Colts drive. As the Titans then looked to run out the clock, Derrick Henry added an exclamation mark with a 72-yard touchdown run that ultimately sealed a critical win for Tennessee.

Highlights

Next: 2017 NFL Power Rankings: Week 7

If this one comes down to who can help take pressure off the quarterback, Tennessee should have the edge. The combination of DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry at running back gives them a potent ground game that they can lean on if necessary. If Mariota is unable to go, that probably will be necessary.