NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If it wasn't a must-win game, it was as close as you could get. The Indianapolis Colts made the 287-mile trip to Nashville, Tennessee, in search of its first AFC South division win of the season. The team, however, went into this affair with a slew of injuries and question marks surrounding who would play.
Earlier in the week, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. had a significant back injury that could see him miss multiple weeks. Pittman Jr., however, played in this game, as did Josh Downs, Ryan Kelly, Braden Smith, Kenny Moore, and Kwity Paye despite all men being deemed "questionable" ahead of the game.
Just one hour before kickoff at Nissan Stadium, quarterback Anthony Richardson was designated as inactive, which came as a surprise to many on hand. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor also was out, missing his second straight game.
"We went through the week with Anthony (Richardson), seeing how he was feeling and obviously just wasn't there yet, so we went with Joe (Flacco) today," Colts head coach Shane Steichen said of the situation postgame.
Despite it all, it was a dream start for the Colts. Flacco continued his solid play, leading a 10-play drive covering 70 yards in 3:43. The hot start and impressive drive were capped off by a Josh Downs 22-yard touchdown reception from Flacco to strike first and lead 7-0.
Indianapolis followed it up with a three-and-out on the other end but failed to capitalize as Flacco threw an interception on the ensuing possession. The Titans took advantage, flipped the momentum, and converted a nine-yard touchdown (Will Levis to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine) on a blown coverage by Colts' safety Nick Cross to tie things up at seven apiece in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Tennessee only managed three points after a 15-play drive. The Colts were unable to muster much offense until late in the first half. Matt Gay tacked on a 26-yard field goal, and the Colts went into the halftime break tied up at 10-10.
The Titans firmly established the ground game in half number two. In its first drive out of the half, Tennessee took it 70 yards in 14 plays, chewing a whopping 8:41 off the clock. Tony Pollard broke several tackles on his way to a 23-yard touchdown run to put the Titans up 17-10.
To its credit, the Colts responded in a big way with a 15-play drive of its own spanning over six minutes, yet only came away with a 22-yard Gay field goal to show for it. Two drives took the entirety of the third quarter as the Colts trailed 17-13.
The defense made numerous key stops leading to the ultimate Colts' game-winning drive. On a critical third down, Flacco lofted it into the endzone, and Pittman Jr. snatched it out of the air for a 10-yard touchdown to give the Colts a 20-17 lead with just over seven minutes remaining in the game.
Colts' safety Julian Blackmon picked-off Titans quarterback Levis on the ensuing possession. Indy made several key stops down the stretch of the game, chewed enough clock and came away with a much, much-needed 20-17 win on the road over the Titans.
"What a great team win. They are never easy, especially going on the road against a division opponent," Steichen said after the game. "Shout out to our defense. Shout out to those guys, they stepped up big time there in the fourth quarter for us getting those stops. Shout out to our defensive coaches with the plan that they had. I think they only had 241 yards, so great job by the defense. Hell of a team win."
It wasn't pretty, but the Colts made just enough plays when they needed to be made. Flacco ended the game completing 22 passes on 38 attempts for 189 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Josh Downs had his third consecutive quality output, securing seven receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown.
"(Downs) shows up every week, too. Obviously, he got the first drive, open-drive touchdown on a little double move there. Got a nice match up there," Steichen said. "So, he shows up, made those big plays over the middle and had some huge punt returns for us, too. He's all over the field making plays."
"He's been huge the last few weeks," Flacco added of Downs. "I mean, ever since he's come back and been in this lineup, I mean he's been a force to be reckoned with. I don't exactly know what he did today in terms of catches and yards, I know we didn't throw for a ton, but I'm sure he had a ton of big plays on third downs."
Steichen and Colts players alike lauded Pittman Jr.'s toughness and impact on this contest. Pittman Jr. caught three passes for 35 yards and the game-winning touchdown.
"He just showed up. Like I said, the toughest guy I’ve ever been around, and when we needed a play, he made the big-time play there on third down. Just a credit to him and his toughness," Steichen remarked. "Credit to the offensive coaches. Jim Bob (Cooter) does a hell of a job with those guys every week getting them prepared. I mean it was just a gritty, gritty team win."
"He's got to be one of the toughest players I’ve played with," Flacco added on Pittman Jr. "I think part of him is probably trying to prove a point. I think there was a report that came out earlier about him, even I saw it on like my ESPN app like 'Pittman out' or whatever it is. It’s awesome, I mean when you have guys like that, you can go a long way, and that's the kind of guys you need to have to play winning football, and he's unbelievable for that."
The Colts are now 3-3 on the season and play host to the Miami Dolphins next week.