The Tennessee Titans will play their first divisional game of the 2023 season in Week 5 when they travel to Lucas Oil Stadium to take on the Indianapolis Colts.
While Tennessee has yet to play a divisional game, the Colts have already taken part in two after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars and beating the Houston Texans in the first two weeks of the campaign.
Buy Titans TicketsAfter winning back-to-back games, the Colts suffered a tough loss to the Los Angeles Rams in Week 4 despite mounting a 23-point comeback to force the game into overtime.
Meanwhile, the Titans got themselves back on track last week after a putrid showing the week prior, beating the Cincinnati Bengals in absolutely dominant fashion, 27-3.
Now, what you came for: here’s eight things to know ahead of the Week 5 game between the Titans and Colts.
Titans are now favored
According to BetMGM, the Titans are now 2.5-point road favorites over the Colts for Week 5 after Indy was originally favored by 1.5 points. The over/under, which was at 42.5 to start the week, is now set at 43.
Per Team Rankings, the Titans are 3-1 against the spread, tied for the second-best record in the NFL. The Colts are slightly below Tennessee at 2-2.
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Titans' winning streak vs. Colts
The Titans own a dismal 22-35 record against the Colts all time, with one of those wins coming in the 1999 playoffs. That mark is mostly thanks to the back-to-back eras of Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck, of course.
However, the Titans have turned things around drastically since 2019, with Tennessee win six of its last seven against Indianapolis in that span, including each of the last five.
Battle for first place
Whoever wins this game will have at least a share of first place in the AFC South (when not including tie-breakers) thanks to every team sporting a 2-2 record going into Sunday.
However, it’s also possible the winner will be atop the division alone going into Week 6 if the Houston Texans (at Atlanta Falcons) and Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Buffalo Bills) both lose their respective games.
King of the South
Titans running back Derrick Henry is averaging 103.6 rushing yards per game against AFC South teams over 35 games, the second-highest average for a player against their division foes since 1970, falling behind only Detroit Lions great, Barry Sanders (104.7 in 76 games).
Derrick Henry absolutely owns the AFC South. #Titans pic.twitter.com/bKtF9irrm1
— Sam Phalen (@Sam_Phalen) October 5, 2023
Henry has also tallied seven 100-yard games against the Colts, and six apiece against the Jaguars and Texans, which rank first and second in the league since 2010.
Most games with 100+ rush yards against a single opponent since *2010:
• Derrick Henry vs Colts (7)
• Derrick Henry vs Texans (6)
• Derrick Henry vs Jaguars (6)
• Adrian Peterson vs Packers (6)
• Nick Chubb vs Bengals (6)*Henry entered the NFL in 2016.
Titans face the…
— Tony Holzman-Escareno (@FrontOfficeNFL) October 4, 2023
In 14 career games against the Colts, Henry is averaging 91.9 rushing yards per game and 10.9 receiving yards per contest, with seven total touchdowns. The Alabama product has broken the century mark on the ground in six of his last eight games against Indy dating back to 2019.
Jonathan Taylor has a chance to play
There was no shortage of drama between running back Jonathan Taylor and the Colts during the offseason, and so much so it seemed impossible that he would ever play another snap for the team.
But Taylor hasn’t been traded and remains on the roster after missing the first four games on the PUP list with an ankle injury, and he was designated to return earlier this week, which gives him a chance to play against the Titans.
On Thursday, Taylor met with the media for the first time since the offseason drama, and while he would not talk about the contract stuff that was at the heart of his issues with Indy, he did say he is healthy.
In his first public comments since June, Colts’ RB Jonathan Taylor told reporters: “It feels really good to be healthy. The main goal was to be healthy and play football.” Taylor is physically ready to play.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 5, 2023
Whether that means he plays this week remains to be seen, but if he does he’ll have quite a difficult matchup to return to, as the Titans sport the No. 4 run defense in the NFL through four weeks. The Wisconsin product is averaging just 42.9 yards per game in his career versus Tennessee.
Possible reinforcements for Titans
The Titans will definitely get right tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere back this week after his suspension ended. However, whether or not he returns to his starting job is up in the air, as veteran Chris Hubbard has done a good job in his stead.
Two other possible returning players are starting left guard Peter Skoronski and wide receiver Kyle Philips, both of whom started the week with full practices. Philips must be activated off injured reserve, but all signs are pointing to that happening.
While those three may return, the status of wide receiver Treylon Burks is in the air. Burks didn’t play last week and started off this week with a “did not practice”.
Injury concerns for Colts
On offense, the Colts are in danger of not having their left tackle, Bernhard Raimann, who has not practiced the first two days of the week and remains in the concussion protocol.
On defense, key players such as linebacker Shaquille Leonard (groin) and defensive linemen Kwity Paye (concussion) were absent the first two days, also.
First meeting with Anthony Richardson
The Titans are the last AFC South team to be introduced to Richardson, who played against the Jaguars and Texans over the first two weeks, although he left both of those games early due to injury.
The Florida product has already proven to be an electric playmaker with his legs, something we all expected. But he’s also shown promise with his arm, which was the biggest question mark about his game. It’s safe to say Indy fans have been pleased early on with the No. 4 overall pick.
