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This victory was no fluke or Cardinals game where the ball was fumbled in the end zone to seal a Titans win. We saw two of the three phases come to life in Indianapolis and dominate for two quarters. The defense and special teams units led the Titans' charge for a 26-point performance in the second half against the Colts. Soak in the first win of the season, Titans fans. You've earned it.
In this recap of Week 6, Lem, Randy and Cody give their thoughts on the Colts game and talk through the wins and challenges they continue to see from the team and coaching staff.
Early Struggles Against a Bad Colts Team
Everything that could go wrong was going wrong in the first half of the Titans/Colts game. Daboll's play calling was questionable, and it seemed like nothing was coming together for the Titans behind quarterback Cam Ward. It helped that the Colts' roster wasn't set up to help Daniel Jones. With WR Alec Pierce out and TE Tyler Warren out, Indianapolis was short on weapons.
"Ugly games and ugly wins still count." - Lem
The game was trending toward another "lifeless" performance label, but things changed in the second half thanks to the defense.
Defensive Focus
The defense found ways to keep the Titans in the game just enough to win. Six sacks and three takeaways were the key to the Titans' 26-point bounce back: INTs by Amani Hooker and Cor'Dale Flott, a strip on Taylor to start the third and recovery by Jeffery Simmons, and an Oladejo special teams scoop and score.
Big performances by both safeties, Tony Adams and Amani Hooker. Big Jeff and Jermaine Johnson both recorded two sacks, and for the entire second half, Daniel Jones was not comfortable. Jacob Martin has 3.5 sacks on the season. John Franklin-Myers (2 QB hits) was a catalyst for other defensive players to make plays.
Interesting move by Robert Saleh to hold Alontae Taylor out of the game as a healthy scratch. The PMC crew isn't looking to speculate on why this happened, but it's something to monitor moving forward.
Offense: Where Do We Go From Here?
No idea where Cam was going when he threw his interception. Bad mechanics showed through on a bad miss to Calvin Ridley, who was open in the end zone. Cam found Tate six times for 70 yards. Build chemistry. The Titans have to sustain drives to keep the defense fresh. That starts with better play from Cam Ward.
"I'm not out on Cam, but I'm also not pleased with the performance. I think he can play a lot better." - Randy
Daboll seemed to be disrupting the offensive rhythm with his play calling. Cody on Brian Daboll's play calling:
"There's so many of these games where there's just no rhythm or flow to the offense."
Lem's not cutting Cam or Daboll any slack on the lack of performance:
"I wish Daboll would keep things simple and make it easy for the team."
The Colts dominated the time of possession battle by almost a full quarter of the game. Defensive resilience paired with excellence on special teams sparked a series of plays where the Titans rallied and dominated in the second half against the Colts. A 301 Day drought of winless regular season Titans football officially came to an end.
The Titans play the 4-2 Cleveland Browns at home this coming Sunday and will be looking to build on their defensive performance while also seeing if they can establish continuity on the offensive side of the ball.
Join the PressMan Coverage crew on Saturday at 8:30 AM CT for a preview of the Browns and jump in with the fellas.
It's Victory Monday. Titan Up!
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