INDIANAPOLIS – With the Colts in control at the half here on Sunday, famed kicker Adam Vinatieri was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor during a ceremony at midfield. More Sports News
Just as the Titans were returning to the field after intermission, Vinatieri uttered these words:
“It’s a bad day to be a Titan.”
As things turned out, it was a bad day to be a Colt.
And, it was a very good day to be a Titan.
The Titans rallied from a halftime deficit to beat the Colts 26-20 here on Sunday.
Boos filled Lucas Oil Stadium as Colts fans voiced their displeasure for how the game unfolded.
Moments after the game, the Titans were celebrating their first win of the season.
In the celebratory locker room, quarterback Cam Ward handed Robert Saleh the game ball for his first win as head coach of the Titans.
It just so happened to be the franchise’s 500th win.p
“Winning in this league is relief,” Saleh said with a smile. “But it’s not about me. I’m happy for Miss Amy – I apologize to her that it took a little longer than we all wanted. The players, these kids put in so much work, and this league is hard. We’d been close on a few occasions, and to knock this one out for them, I am much more excited for them than for myself.”
The Titans scored 20 straight points during one stretch, and after the Colts tied it, they found a way to win it despite trailing 13-0 at the half.
Kicker Joey Slye kicked a 49-yard field goal to give the Titans a 23-20 lead with 2:03 left, and another Slye field goal accounted for the final score.
The Titans then got a game-sealing stop at the end to win it.
“I’m proud of him,” Ward, who completed 11-of-22 passes for 102 yards in the contest, said of Saleh. “Coach Saleh, he is the same person each and every day he comes in the building. For him to get his first win in the fashion that we did, it’s awesome. We have to continue to rally around coach Saleh.”
Tennessee’s defense forced three turnovers in the game, and tallied six sacks to put the team in a position to win it.
The Titans improved to 1-5 with the win.
“We’d been doing the right things, working hard,” defensive end Jermaine Johnson said. “For us to be rewarded after starting 0 and 5, it feels great. This is what you do all the work for, to get that win on Sunday.”
Things didn’t look great early, even after Titans safety Amani Hooker made a big play, intercepting Colts quarterback Daniel Jones while hauling in a tipped ball on the sideline.
But the Titans couldn’t get anything going on offense, and when the Colts got the ball back, they drove 70 yards and scored on a one-yard touchdown pass from Jones to tight end Mo Alie-Cox to make it 7-0 early in the second quarter.
The Colts extended their lead to 10-0 late in the first half on a 23-yard field goal by kicker Spencer Shrader.
After an interception thrown by Ward, the Colts added another field goal, this one from 47 yards out, to make it 13-0 at the half. The Titans managed just three first downs and 64 yards of offense in the first half.
Things looked pretty bleak, in fact.
The second half looked different.
Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons, who had two sacks in the game, made a big play early in the third quarter when he forced a fumble, and then recovered it, at the Indianapolis 33-yard line.
The Titans made it 13-3 on a 29-yard field by Slye with 13:30 left in the third quarter.
The Titans then created their third turnover on defense when cornerback Cor’Dale Flott intercepted Jones at Tennessee’s 11-yard line, ending a scoring threat from the Colts.
Slye’s second field goal of the game, this one from 56 yards, made it 13-6 with 3:21 left in the third quarter.
Then came a big punt return by kicker Chimere Dike, which set up the game-tying touchdown.
Dike’s 58-yard return gave the Titans the ball at the Colts 23-yard line.
On a second down play from the Indianapolis eight, Ward connected with receiver Carnell Tate for a touchdown to tie the game at 13-13 with 13:00 left.
Then came another big play on special teams – running back Julius Chestnut and linebacker James Williams blocked a punt, and defensive end Femi Oladejo picked it up and ran it in 14 yards for a touchdown, which gave the Titans a 20-13 lead with 10:14 left in the game.
After the Colts capped off a long drive with a four-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor to make it 20-20 with 5:32 left, the Titans found a way to win late.
“It’s a relief,” Simmons said. “The energy in that locker room … I’d been saying that dam was eventually going to break, and you have to get one before you get two. The feeling we got it, it’s big. Now we have to keep trying to stack these wins.”
The Titans return to action next Sunday at Nissan Stadium against the Cleveland Browns.
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