NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are coming off an early bye that no one really wanted, with the NFL schedule…
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans are coming out of goodbye early no one really wanted him, with the NFL schedule offering a chance to start making up for his 0-3 start.
Indianapolis will travel to the Titans’ first AFC South game this season on Sunday.
“We’re 1-3, but you have a chance to get back in the game quickly if you can win a division game this week,” first-year coach Brian Callahan said. “You see most of the league, outside of about three teams, is either 3-2, 2-3, or 2-2. So everything is mixed. »
The Titans finally gave Callahan his first victory on September 30 with a Rout 31-12 in Miami. This game means a lot because they won’t face another AFC South opponent until Nov. 24, when they visit defending division champion Houston.
The Colts (2-3) I know how important division games are. They have already lost their first two AFC South matches and have just won a 37-34 loss in Jacksonville.
“You want to win championships, you have to win division games,” Indy coach Shane Steichen said. “And getting back on the road, having another divisional opponent – the urgency is there. You can feel it in the guys.
Steichen at least has the benefit of sweeping Tennessee in his first season last year, ending a five-game skid in this division rivalry and helping cost Titans coach Mike Vrabel his job.
QB Questions
Both teams have drafted quarterbacks in 2023, with Indianapolis using the fourth overall pick. Anthony Richardson and Tennessee is waiting for No. 33 to take Will Levis. Both teams are trying to accelerate the development of their young QBs.
Levis and Richardson have yet to face each other in the NFL. Richardson’s rookie season lasted four games before ending with an injury against Tennessee. Lévis debuted three weeks later with a victory.
Richardson did not play last week due to hip soreness. Levis left the win against the Dolphins after injuring his right shoulder while trying to get a first down. Richardson is 4-4 as a starter, while Levis is 4-9. Both have six interceptions this season, tied for first in the NFL.
Levi’s has nine turnovers, and Tennessee is tied for the worst turnover margin in the league at minus-7. He is working hard to play on Sunday. He said he has to trust his eyes and “hopefully my body feels good where I don’t even have to think about these things.”
Smashed Colts
The Colts could be without their starting running back, Jonathan Taylor nursing an ankle injury that kept him out last week, and their top wide receiver. Michael Pittman Jr. suffers back injury that could force the Colts to place him as their 10th player on injured reserve.
Defensive Titans
The Titans have the stingiest defense in the NFL in terms of overall yards and passing yards allowed per game. They also didn’t allow a player to run for 100 yards, throw for 300, or have a 100-yard receiving play. The Chargers are the only other team to do this.
Tennessee has allowed just one 300-yard passing game in the last 19 games, against then-Colts quarterback Gardner Minshew on Dec. 3 of last season. The Titans won at Miami without two-time Pro Bowl lineman Jeffery Simmons, who is nursing a torn ligament in his left elbow.
“There’s no way I’m going to miss Sunday,” Simmons said.
On the defensive
Indy’s defense dissected what went wrong last week in Jacksonville, when it gave up a record points and nearly 500 total yards to what had been a struggling offense — and how to fix it before Sunday.
The fixes began with the release of cornerback Dallis Flowers, who made errors on two TD passes last week. Linebacker Zaire Franklin said the video session wasn’t easy to follow for a while. missing group linemen Samson Ebukam, DeForest Buckner and Tyquan Lewis and cornerback JuJu Brents.
“We just have to be better, and we will be,” Franklin said.
Familiar faces
One thing that could help the Colts defense? No Derrick Henry. This is the first time since 2015 these teams will meet without the two-time NFL champion and the first time they will play since 2018 without Henry as a starter.
In 16 career games, Henry has totaled 1,432 yards (89.5 per game), averaged 5 yards per carry and scored nine touchdowns. He surpassed the 100-yard mark in half of those contests.
Even without Henry – or Vrabel – the Colts recognize some of the new faces, with Titans receiver Calvin Ridley last playing in Jacksonville. Franklin said they knew Tennessee running backs Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears, adding that’s how the NFL works.
Goodbye goodbye
The Titans have a chance to tie Buffalo for nine straight wins after a bye for the NFL’s longest active streak. Only Philadelphia has a longer streak, winning 13 straight games after a bye between 1999 and 2011.
Tennessee’s streak spans two coaches, Mike Mularkey and Vrabel.
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AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.
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