Disappointment seems to be the theme for the Indianapolis Colts during the first quarter of the season.
The team came out in the first half Sunday and didn’t look ready for the moment. The offense started with a Matt Ryan fumble and a three-and-out on their first two drives. The defense came out looking flat. Derrick Henry had his way with them, gashing them multiple times for chunk plays and finishing drives with touchdowns.
The Tennessee Titans opened up to a 24-3 with 7:40 left in the second quarter. It was a different story for the Colts in the second half. The defense forced three straight three-and-outs which gave the team plenty of opportunities to complete the comeback.
But, the offense fell flat on their face whenever they crossed midfield. Indianapolis had all the chances to go win this game and they couldn’t get the job done.
A fourth straight loss to a divisional rival makes this one hard to swallow for the Colts. Here are my five takeaways from the matchup:
1
No answer for Derrick Henry in the first half
The Colts looked like they had one of the better run defenses in the NFL entering Sunday but Derrick Henry didn’t care and just took it to the unit to start the game. Henry had 99 rushing yards at halftime and the Titans averaged 7.0 yards per carry. The way that Indianapolis looked in the first half was very underwhelming.
They were missing tackles and were getting dominated in the trenches. It was minimal that they were contacting Henry at the line of scrimmage. The second half was much better for Gus Bradley’s defense. The Colts held Henry to 15 rushing yards in the final two quarters.
Overall, Henry finished with 147 total yards and two touchdowns. He accounted for 60.4% of the Tennessee offense. The defense did their part in the second half but they have to get off to a better start in the first half.
2
Brutal day for the ground game
The Titans were giving up 145.0 rushing yards per game in the first three weeks of the season. This looked like a juicy matchup for the Colts to get the rushing attack back on track with Jonathan Taylor. Mike Vrabel made sure that wasn’t going to happen. His defense sold out to make sure that Taylor wouldn’t have an impact on the game.
Tennessee looked ready for every run by Taylor and their defensive front beat up on the Indianapolis offensive line. The running backs had very little to work with. Rushing lanes were filled up and the Titans did a great job at tackling today. They had five tackles for loss against the Colts.
Frank Reich didn’t back down from his approach and would continue to run Taylor at the wall Tennessee had all day. The running back finished with 20 rushing attempts for 42 yards. It ended up being a rough ending for the star back.
On a third-and-short, Taylor fumbled the ball away during his effort to get the first down. He would later get checked on the sideline because of an ankle injury. He was labeled as questionable but he appeared to be ready to go back in if he was needed on the final drive by the Indianapolis offense.
His injury will be something to monitor ahead of the Thursday night matchup against the Denver Broncos. This marks three straight games that the Colts don’t finish with at least 100 rushing yards. I’d never thought I would see that from the offense heading into the season. Frank Reich has to figure out how to get Taylor and the ground game going.
3
Big day for the tight ends
There was one bright spot for the Colts’ offense and that was from the tight end group. They got going on the first touchdown drive at the end of the first half. Jelani Woods caught his one target of the day and took it 33 yards to put the offense in the redzone. Matt Ryan would go on to connect with Mo-Alie Cox for the score.
Matt Ryan connects with Mo Alie-Cox for the #Colts first touchdownpic.twitter.com/6Dskj4p4oj
— Cody Manning (@CodyTalksNFL) October 2, 2022
Alie-Cox ended up being the leading receiver for Indianapolis. He caught six balls for 85 yards and two touchdowns. He had a long of 34 yards. But, it wasn’t just the veteran making plays. Kylen Granson showed up today.
He helped the offense keep moving the chains throughout the game and had an amazing sideline catch. The second-year tight end finished with four receptions for 62 yards on four targets. The three of them combined for 50.5% of Ryan’s passing yards. The tight ends are supposed to be an intregal part of Frank Reich’s offense so their performance is something the Colts need to build upon.
4
Mixed bag for the passing attack
It was an up-and-down day for Matt Ryan and the passing attack. Just like the defense, the offense got off to a slow start against the Titans. It was started with another Matt Ryan strip-sack fumble. Former Colt, Denico Autry, beat Quenton Nelson to collapse on the quarterback and dislodged the ball upon impact. This gave Tennessee great field position to get their first touchdown.
On the third drive, they started to look much better but that was quickly lived when Indianapolis got the ball back down 17-3. Ryan’s first pass attempted ended in an interception. Teair Tart made an unbelievable athletic play by a defensive lineman. Not only he tipped the ball, but he was able to track down it and come down with the interception.
It's tART! 🎨 @speedboy_te
📺: Watch #TENvsIND on @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/7RjzmmNHfY
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 2, 2022
The Titans were able to once again covert a turnover into a touchdown which made it a 24-3 game. Then the Colts started to show life in their passing attack. The pass protection started to hold up and Ryan had time to pick apart the Tennessee defense.
Ryan found a rhythm and was able to put together back-to-back touchdown drives between the end of the first half and the third quarter. Things were looking up for the offense but their final three drives ended up in regret.
After getting to the Tennessee 34-yard line, the Colts went backward because of another Ryan strip-sack fumble. They did recover it but had to punt. Indy was able to keep it moving on the next drive but Jonathan Taylor fumbled the ball at the Titans’ 23-yard line.
On their last drive of the game, Ryan was able to connect with Alec Pierce on a 44-yard reception but the offense once against stalled across midfield. On third-and-13, Matt Pryor failed to pick up Denico Autry and he was able to sack Ryan for an eight-yard loss.
This led to a missed 51-yard field goal attempt by Chase McLaughlin and the Colts never got the ball back. Ryan ended his day going 27/37 for 356 yards, two touchdowns, an interception, and a lost fumble. Ryan’s turnovers and the struggles to finish drives with points have been a major problem to start the season.
5
Seats are warming again
There was a lot of heat coming for Chris Ballard and Frank Reich following the shutout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2. They were able to simmer those flames with the upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs but the embers were lit again with the loss to the Titans. Jim Irsay was adamant about how his team needed to finally beat their divisional rival and he has to be furious with their performance today.
As I have alluded to earlier, this team looked unprepared to start the game and came out flat. They didn’t look ready for the moment and let Tennessee push them around for the first two quarters. The Colts understood their path to the postseason was to win the AFC South for the first time since 2014 and they now have an uphill battle to get it done.
Not only do they find themselves with a 1-2-1 record, but they are also 0-2-1 in their first three divisional games. This is the fourth straight loss against the Titans and Ryan Tannehill has a 5-1 against Indianapolis as Tennessee’s quarterback.
The Colts once again have to climb themselves out of a hole after the first month of the NFL season. Frank Reich has done it before but this story is more than just a trend and if Indianapolis can’t get it done then expect the noise of Reich’s and Ballard’s job security to get louder with every loss.
