The Tennessee Titans got their first win of the season in dramatic fashion in Week 6, rallying from a 13-0 halftime hole to beat the Indianapolis Colts 26-20. But the comeback didn’t change the bigger picture: Brian Daboll’s offense was still stuck in the mud, and the defense and special teams did most of the heavy lifting.
Tennessee was outgained by 213 total yards, finishing with 186 to Indianapolis’ 399. Per Next Gen Stats, that was the Titans’ worst total yards margin in a victory since Week 15, 2006, against the Jaguars, when they were minus-298, according to Easton Freeze. That kind of stat tells the story better than the final score does.
The first half was all about stalled drives and empty possessions for Daboll’s unit. Tennessee generated just 64 first-half yards and never scored, punting three times even while sitting in fourth-and-manageable situations. The offense simply couldn’t get anything going, leaving the comeback to everyone else.
Jeffery Simmons ignited the turnaround to open the third quarter, forcing a fumble and recovering it at the Colts’ 33-yard line. Even with that gift, the offense produced only 22 yards before settling for a field goal.
On the next series, Cor’Dale Flott ended a long Colts drive with an interception, and Tennessee got the ball at its own 11. That ended up being Daboll’s best drive of the second half, though it still finished with another field goal after a nine-play, 50-yard march.
Then came the clearest flash of creativity from the offense. After Chimere Dike ripped off a 58-yard punt return to put Tennessee at the Colts’ 28, the Titans needed just four plays to reach the end zone on a Cam Ward touchdown pass to Carnell Tate, knotting things at 13-13. It was a sharp call and one of the few times the offense looked like it had a pulse.
The Colts answered, but Tennessee kept catching breaks in the hidden-yardage battle. A blocked punt was returned for a Titans touchdown, and after Indianapolis tied the game again at 20, the Titans leaned on another short field and a pass interference penalty on Tate to set up Joey Slye’s game-winning 49-yard field goal. Daboll’s offense managed just 16 yards on eight plays on that final scoring possession.
All told, three second-half drives started in Colts territory at the 33, 28 and 31. Tennessee did score on all three, but two of those finishes were Slye field goals. The comeback was built on two turnovers and two huge special teams moments, not on the offense taking over.
That’s the part the Titans can’t ignore, even with the win in hand. They got the result they needed, but they can’t keep asking the defense and special teams to rescue an offense that was ineffective for most of the day. Daboll’s group is still searching for answers.
In Other News...
Titans Suddenly Face A Real Question About Alontae Taylor
A quiet but notable subplot emerged before Tennessees game against Indianapolis when Robert Saleh made the call to bench starting cornerback Alontae Taylor as part of a reset. Saleh framed the move as a way to help Taylor adjust to life as an outside corner in the teams defensive system, and Taylor took the news in stride, acknowledging the decision while stressing his motivation to adapt and improve.
For the Titans, the situation raises a real roster and development question at a position that has been under the microscope all season. It also landed on a day when there was some good news elsewhere, with Julius Chestnut earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his punt block, while the team continued sorting through injury updates and practice participation ahead of the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Fans Noticed A Familiar Voice Suddenly Missing In Nashville
For more than a decade, Blaine Bishop has been one of the more familiar football voices around Nashville, mixing his former Titans perspective with weekday radio on 104.5 The Zone. The ex-safety had been with the station since January 2010 and had co-hosted the Cover Two show with Zach Lyons, giving listeners a steady, recognizable presence well after his playing days ended.
Bishop is no longer part of that lineup. His last appearance on Cover Two came on Oct. 15, and producer Ross Johnston has been filling in since then, leaving a noticeable change for Titans fans who had grown used to hearing Bishop's take alongside Lyons every week. [Read more 🡒]
Titans Could Make A Painful Deadline Choice Fans Knew Was Coming
At 1-5, the Titans are once again staring at the kind of deadline that usually forces a hard reset, and this time the conversation is not about buying help but about deciding which veterans still fit the long view. The reported stance is clear enough: outside of the rookie class, Cam Ward and Jeffery Simmons, just about everyone else can be discussed if the return helps Tennessee build draft capital before the Nov. 10 deadline.
That makes the next two weeks worth watching around players like Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard and Cody Barton, all of whom could draw different levels of interest depending on what a contender needs. Ridley has been linked to the Rams, Pollard has been tied to the Bengals and Barton has been floated to the Bills, but those are only speculative fits for now, the sort of deadline chatter that says as much about where the Titans are headed as it does about where these veterans might land. [Read more 🡒]