Losers of 8 straight, Titans face must-win game against undefeated Colts before road swing
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Titans have rookie Cam Ward at quarterback, along with a lot of new faces. The roster changes haven't helped stop their skid.
The Titans are 0-2 and losers of eight straight dating to last season. They also have lost four consecutive divisional games to Indianapolis, and the Colts visit Sunday sitting on top of the AFC South.
Divisional math means this matters a lot.
“Definitely counts for two, for sure,” Titans wide receiver Calvin Ridley said. “We get this one, we put ourselves right back in the mix.”
This is the first road game this season for Indianapolis and the Colts (2-0) have a chance to continue their best start since 2009. For a team that just missed the playoffs last season, the Colts know painfully how much every game matters.
"My boy (Xavier) McKinney with the Packers said it best: 'There are a lot of teams that start out 2-0 and end up not being nothing,’” Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said.
The Titans lost their home opener last week 33-19 to the Los Angeles Rams, but have led in the second half of each of their first two games. The Colts needed a penalty for a do-over field goal to beat Denver 29-28 last week.
After Sunday, Tennessee hit the road for three straight and won't be back until Oct. 19.
“We have to get a win this week in the divisional game,” Ward said. “That matters a lot, just try to get the foot rolling.”
Indy is off to its best start since winning the first 14 games in 2009, when the Colts won their second AFC championship. Much of the credit goes to new starting quarterback Daniel Jones.
He has completed more than 71% of his throws, ranks second in the league with 588 yards passing and has run for three TDs. He has also led the Colts to points on 14 of 17 drives, and Indy has yet to turn the ball over.
The result: Jones has already matched his victory total from last season. And with a win Sunday, he would match the victory total of his final 16 starts with the New York Giants.
Jones knows the Colts can be better even with becoming the first team in the Super Bowl era to have no punts through its first two games.
“We’ve been stopped, and we haven’t converted on some fourth downs, which have kept us from scoring," Jones said. “So, I mean, yeah, it’s great we haven’t punted, but we’ve got to convert those and got to score touchdowns in the red zone.”
No quarterback has been sacked more than the Titans' rookie. Ward has gone down 11 times already, though he is the first quarterback taken at No. 1 overall not to be picked off through his first two games.
Titans right tackle JC Latham missed the last game with a strained hip. But Ward said he can help his offensive line by getting through his progressions faster and moving on from his first option before the snap faster. The rookie said his teammates are doing their job running routes.
“They won a lot of the backside routes I didn’t get to where they had to step up,” Ward said. “Then just really getting better in the pocket, moving within the pocket. Keeping a short strike, getting the ball out.”
Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in rushing and had 165 yards last week. He also caught two passes for 50 yards and another score.
The Titans remember only too well what happened when these teams met last December. Taylor ran for 218 yards, the second-highest single game total of his career, averaged 7.5 yards per carry and scored three TDs in a 38-30 victory.
They may get tackle T'Vondre Sweat back from an injured ankle to help three-time Pro Bowl tackle Jeffery Simmons slow down Taylor.
Indy signed safety Cam Bynum in free agency to become a playmaker, and he has wasted no time demonstrating what he can do. Bynum has one interception in each of the first two games, three passes defensed and seven tackles.
With an offense that has no giveaways and Bynum helping the defense produce takeaways, the Colts lead the league with a plus-4 turnover differential.
“Just having vision like, ‘Hey, boom, here I’m getting a pick,’ acting like a football out there and going through his operation, I think that stuff’s huge,” coach Shane Steichen said. “I think a lot of it is a mindset thing of visualization, making those plays.”
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AP Sports Writer Michael Marot contributed to this report.
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