The Colts had this one in their hands. Then they let it leak away in every phase.
Indianapolis built a 13-0 halftime lead over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, but the second half turned into a collapse that touched offense, defense and special teams. The Titans scored 26 unanswered points across the final two quarters and walked out with a 26-20 win, handing the Colts a loss that came apart piece by piece.
The early part of the game belonged to Indianapolis. After Tennessee opened with a punt and the Colts answered with a methodical 72-yard drive, Daniel Jones connected with Deion Burks for 36 yards to get things moving. That march, however, ended with a mistake when Jones tried to hit Josh Downs, only for Amani Hooker to snag the pass for an interception at the Tennessee 6-yard line.
Even so, the Colts kept pressuring the Titans. Tennessee went three-and-out, and Indianapolis used the field position to keep building.
Jonathan Taylor ripped off a 38-yard catch on a screen, Keenan Allen added a 13-yard reception, and Jones found Mo Alie-Cox from a yard out for the first touchdown of the day. Spencer Shrader’s extra point made it 7-0 with 11:07 left in the first half.
The Colts tacked on more before halftime. A 13-play, 75-yard drive ended with Shrader drilling a 23-yard field goal, and after Cam Bynum picked off Cam Ward - his first interception of the year and the Colts’ third takeaway of the season - Indianapolis added one more Shrader kick, this one from 47 yards, to go into the break up 13-0.
Then the second half unraveled almost immediately.
On the first play after halftime, Taylor was stripped by Jeffery Simmons, who also recovered the fumble. Tennessee turned that short field into points with a 29-yard Joey Slye field goal, cutting the margin to 13-3.
Not long after that, Jones gave it right back again, throwing an interception straight to Cor'Dale Flott at the Tennessee 11. It was Jones' ninth turnover of the season in its first six games.
The Titans kept chipping away. Slye added a 56-yard field goal late in the third quarter, and Tennessee opened the fourth with the drive that finally tied it. Ward found Carnell Tate from eight yards out to make it 13-13 with 13:00 left.
The biggest blow came on special teams. After another stalled Colts possession, Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt was blocked by Julius Chestnut, recovered by Oluwafemi Oladejo and returned 14 yards for a touchdown.
Sanchez was hit on the play and left with a foot injury. Suddenly, Tennessee had its first lead at 20-13 with 10:17 to go.
Indianapolis still had one response left. Jones hit Downs for 23 yards, Taylor added a 19-yard run, and Taylor finished the eight-play, 72-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run to tie it at 20-20 with 5:32 remaining.
But the Colts could not hold up on the other side of the ball. A 36-yard defensive pass interference penalty on Cam Taylor-Britt helped set Tennessee up, and Slye answered with a 49-yard field goal to put the Titans back in front 23-20 with 2:03 left. Indianapolis went nowhere on its next possession, then came up empty again on the final drive, ending with a pair of failed Hail Marys.
It was a stunning reversal for a Colts team that controlled the first half and then watched the game slip away in the ugliest way possible.
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