THE Indianapolis Colts got the job done in their Sunday battle against the Tennessee Titans38-30, in a game that ended in unexpected drama in the fourth quarter.
Although the Colts took a three-point lead after the first half and dominant play from Jonathan Taylorthe Titans found a way to get back into the mix and continue the Colts’ season streak without winning a game by one score.
A win is a win, but Indianapolis made some obvious mistakes late in the game to give Tennessee a chance to punch.
ESPN Stephen Holder highlighted the Colts’ struggles late in the game during their Sunday performance in two simple words: “unnecessarily difficult”.
“The Colts allowed the Titans to score 23 unanswered points in the second half after taking a 38-7 lead,” Holder said. “It didn’t need to be that difficult. A clutch conversion on third down with less than two minutes to play iced the game, as quarterback Anthony Richardson connected with wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to move the chains.”
The Colts put the game within their grasp at the end, but the dust settled when Taylor, Anthony Richardson And Michael Pittman went to work on the final offensive drive of the game. They did enough damage that Indianapolis shut down Mason Rudolph and the Titans deep in their own territory with little time remaining, and the defense took care of the rest with an interception.
The win came to the Colts’ hands a little later than expected, but this one really should have had a bottom line midway through the third quarter, especially considering the performance of their superstar running back.
Taylor finished the game with his best performance of the season, rushing 29 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns. This is his second week in a row running at least 100 meters. Looking at the Colts’ remaining schedule for the year, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to keep this streak going down the stretch.
Overall, the Colts offense showed some extremely positive areas, especially in the running game, to allow this team to hang on by a thread in the Wild Card discussion. Still, a defensive unit that began to fall apart late in the contest may still have work to do in the coming weeks to keep its playoff aspirations alive.
The Colts will have a golden opportunity to build on Sunday’s victory next weekend when they take on the New York Giants.
Want more Colts content? Check out the latest episode of Horseshoe Huddle Podcast!
Follow Horseshoe hug on Facebook And Xand subscribe on YouTube for several live-streamed Colts podcasts per week.
