The Tennessee Titans have had the Indianapolis Colts’ number over the last few years and Colts owner Jim Irsay is sick and tired of being sick and tired of losing to his team’s division rival.
Not only have the Titans won four of their last five meetings with the Colts, they’ve also notched a pair of division titles in each of the past two seasons, and Tennessee made a deep playoff run in 2019, also.
Meanwhile, Indy has missed the playoffs in two of the past three seasons and have had a revolving door of quarterbacks since Andrew Luck’s abrupt retirement prior to the 2019 season.
Tennessee’s recent dominance over Indianapolis is a far cry from how things used to be. From 2008-16, the Colts won an astounding 16 of 18 contests, including a stretch of 11 straight games.
While down at the owner’s meetings this week, Irsay made it quite clear that he’s sick of losing to the Titans and wants that to change, per Mike Chappell of FOX59.
“They kick our a** and they have been kicking our a**,’’ Irsay said. “We’ve got to get past that. I don’t hide from the facts that are our there competitively. I want to put them right in front of us . . . you have to know where your nemeses lie.
“It’s just completely unacceptable the way they’ve dominated the division over us. It just is. And I give (coach Mike) Vrabel a ton of credit. He’s done a great job. He’s a tough guy.
“We have to prove we can beat them and beat them when it most matters and consistently beat them.’’
Irsay also detailed how he called a meeting with coaches and scouts after the Colts dropped their 2021 Week 3 contest to the Titans, 25-16.
“I brought our whole coaching staff in and every scout that was in the building for a ‘come-to-Jesus meeting’ with me,’’ Irsay said Tuesday from the NFL owners meetings. “It was about Tennessee kicking our a** because that’s all they do is kick our a**,” Irsay admitted.
“It was ‘Do you like to be on a leash? Do you like to be subjugated, dominated? Do you like to keep getting your a** kicked?’’
The meeting didn’t change anything, though, as the Titans went on to beat the Colts again in Week 8, 34-31, in overtime. Of course, Tennessee ultimately won the division while Indianapolis choked in the final two games of the campaign, ending their season without a playoff berth.
The Colts have upgraded their quarterback position this offseason, moving on from Carson Wentz in favor of Matt Ryan, who was acquired in a deal with the Atlanta Falcons.
However, until the Colts prove they can beat the Titans and overtake them for the AFC South throne, doubts will remain — even in Irsay’s mind — about their ability to do so.
