The Colts have a chance on Sunday to do something they haven’t done enough of through five weeks: look like a team that can finish a game with authority.
They’ll host the winless Titans on Sunday afternoon in their lone home game of October, and while Indianapolis is a touchdown favorite at Lucas Oil Stadium, there’s still plenty hanging over this team. The record sits at 2-3.
The defense has been short on playmaking. Jonathan Taylor’s explosive runs have gone missing.
And the takeaways? Almost nonexistent.
Shane Steichen pushed back Wednesday on the idea that effort is the issue on defense, even after Sauce Gardner called himself out for a lack of effort against Washington and Akeem Davis-Gaither pointed to more of a “want to” when it comes to tackling.
“I don’t think there’s a lack of effort at all. If you put on the tape, I think guys are flying around.
Obviously, execution, from everything, needs to be a little bit better. But like I said, we got a great opportunity this week.”
That’s the message from the head coach, and Lou Anarumo is on the same page. The problems, in their view, are less about hustle and more about getting the details right.
On Tuesday, Anarumo kept digging into a familiar well, bringing back veteran linebacker Germaine Pratt to help a defense that has been one of the NFL’s worst. Pratt, who starts this week on the practice squad, has deep history with Anarumo from their Cincinnati days. He was the first defensive player Anarumo drafted there, going in the third round in 2019, and eventually started 88 games under him.
Pratt now returns to Indianapolis after joining the Raiders in 2025, though the separation didn’t last long. He comes in after wanting a change of scenery, and the Colts could use the stability.
Last year, Pratt helped patch over a major WILL linebacker issue next to Zaire Franklin. This time around, he arrives after not being on a roster since January.
He had been volunteering as a coach at NC State.
If Pratt gets up to speed quickly, the next question is obvious: what happens to the linebacker rotation already in place? The most likely answer is that Davis-Gaither stays at MIKE and Pratt settles in at WILL, with both players familiar with each other from Cincinnati. But there’s also at least some thought about whether rookie CJ Allen could be pushed into the starting lineup.
The Colts also filled another roster spot by elevating tight end Pharaoh Brown from the practice squad. Steichen said that move had nothing to do with injuries to Mo Alie-Cox or Drew Ogletree, and it wasn’t a setback for Will Mallory, who returned to practice last week with a right thumb injury. Brown has played in 94 career games with 56 starts, and he spent the offseason with Indianapolis.
That gives the Colts four tight ends on the current 53-man roster, with Mallory still having 14 days left in his practice window before the team has to either activate him or leave him on injured reserve for the rest of the season. If he does get activated, Indianapolis will need to clear another spot.
For all the roster shuffling, the biggest on-field concern may be Taylor. Indianapolis has been waiting a long time for his breakaway juice to return, and it still hasn’t happened. Taylor has 32 career runs of at least 25 yards, but he hasn’t ripped one off in more than 570 plays, dating back to Kansas City last November.
That kind of burst is a huge part of what makes Taylor special, and it’s been absent for too long. A Daniel Jones injury late last season and the absence of Alec Pierce in 2026 have both been part of the picture, but the bottom line is the same: Taylor has not found the open field the way he used to.
Steichen wants more than just a win on Sunday. He wants to see the Colts win with a stronger version of their quarterback play and with more disruption from the defensive front. Those are the two areas he highlighted as most important heading into tougher trips to Minnesota and Jacksonville.
And right now, the numbers back up the concern. Through 300 minutes of football, Indianapolis has forced just two turnovers, the fewest in the NFL. It’s also the fewest turnovers the franchise has ever had through the first five weeks of a season.
That has been a glaring issue all season, and it’s the first thing Steichen mentioned when asked what needs to improve.
The Titans come to town with their own problems. They’re 0-5 under Robert Saleh, scoring an NFL-low 11 points per game, and second-year quarterback Cam Ward has struggled, including during the preseason. That’s the backdrop for a game the Colts are expected to win.
But after five weeks, they still need to show they can do more than just be favored. They need to show they can make something happen.
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Colts Face A Week 6 Reality They Cannot Ignore Against Titans
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Colts Found Two Bright Spots In A Loss Fans Hated
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Nelson graded out at 86.9, which was the best mark among left guards, a reminder that Indianapolis still had some high-level play in the trenches even in defeat. Gould gave the Colts a lift in the kicking game with two returns that averaged 40.5 yards, highlighted by a career-long 54-yard burst that offered one of the more explosive moments in an otherwise rough afternoon. [Read more 🡒]