Game Preview — Colts vs. Titans
The Tennessee Titans are finally off their bye and back to football. Although it’s been some of the worst football Titans fans have seen over the past 4 weeks, it still feels good to be back. The Titans are 1-3 and are looking to not let that define their season. They’re two games away from .500 with The Colts and Bills to face within the next 8 days. These next couple games are going to define how the Titans season plays out. It starts with the Titans first divisional matchup tomorrow against the 2-3 Indianapolis Colts. Luckily, for the Titans, the Colts are trotting out Anthony Richardson en lieu of Joe Flacco who recently came off a 359 yard game with 3 TD’s against the Jaguars last week.
The Titans are getting Will Levis back for the game after he injured his shoulder early in the MNF game against the Dolphins. I’m sure there are a contingent of fans that are not exactly satisfied with that — and understandably so — however, it’s the right thing to do. The Titans need to 100% know whether Will Levis is the guy or not before next year. This is the only option that will ultimately decide his fate as well as the Titans fate for the offseason. Currently, the pulse of the fanbase is that Levis is not the franchise QB. Unfortunately, as of this moment there’s quite a bit of evidence to back that up. Levis hasn’t nearly played to the ability and potential that was fairly or unfairly placed on him. Despite Will Levis only playing 3.25 games he leads his peers in turnovers (9). That’s an insane average of 3 turnovers per game. Suffice to say the Titans cannot win football games if their QB continues to turnover the ball at an unprecedented rate. If Levis can go an entire game without giving the ball up I like the Titans chances against the Colts. However, I’m more inclined to believe that we’ll see more of the same Will Levis despite a near two week absence.
Will Levis evaluates his shoulder and his status heading into #Titans game vs. Colts. pic.twitter.com/m1jrclAqqu
— AtoZ Sports Nashville (@AtoZSports) October 9, 2024
Coach Brian Callahan is going to need to coach one hell of a game tomorrow. It’ll be his first match against a divisional opponent. Currently the Titans offense ranks near last in many categories such as: yards, points, and sacks/pressures given up. After taking a breath with the bye week it’ll be important to see how Coach Callahan adjusts. The Titans only success offensively thus far has come against the woeful Miami Dolphins who were on their 3rd string QB. I want to give Callahan the benefit of the doubt but I’m not so sure. The Titans played great field position during their victory over the Dolphins as they consistently pinned Miami deep in their own territory, forced a punt, then barely moved the ball and mangaed to kick a FG — thank you Nick Folk (5/5) — to win the game. The Titans will need to do more than that against a Colts team who has consistently been the Titans bugaboo. The Titans defense finally got its first turnover of the season against Miami on MNF. Meanwhile, Anthony Richardson has turned the ball over 6 times in 3 games. DC Dennard Wilson needs to create a gameplan that forces Richardson to hold the ball and not break the pocket. Richardson and the Colts offense should already be hesitant to let loose after Richardson’s hip and oblique injuries. This should hopefully help the defense keep Richardson out of his element as he should end up favoring his injury.
The Colts not only may be dealing with a hobbled QB but they’ll be without their former Pro Bowl RB Johnathan Taylor. Taylor was declared out Friday afternoon with an ankle injury. In addition, Josh Downs and Michael Pittman Jr. are questionable to play but look to be available come Sunday after dealing with injuries earlier in the week. The Titans are getting back Jeffery Simmons after an elbow injury kept him out of the Monday Night game against the Dolphins. T’Vondre Sweat and Simmons have done a good job in general of plugging up the middle of the offense. Sweat is currently the Titans highest graded defensive player with an 80.1 grade and ranks 6th in the NFL at his position behind DeForest Buckner. Sweat is doing all the right things and he deserves all his flowers. After a rough offseason he’s quickly changed the perception of himself and all Titans fans should be excited about what we have in Sweat. What we need now is for Simmons to pull his weight, because so far he’s been less than stellar. Simmons currently ranks 59th in the NFL with a paltry 59 rating from PFF. The Colts could be without several starters on the OL which includes Pro Bowl Center Ryan Kelly. The opportunity for both Simmons and Sweat to wreak havoc is doable. If the Titans can gain a competitive advantage in the trenches I really like their odds in this matchup.
The Titans first divisional matchup won’t be a blowout on either side. It should be touch matchup for both teams as they look to secure a victory on Sunday. My heart and brain — for some reason — is telling me that the Titans will win this game. The Colts are dealing with a lot of injuries and the Titans are coming off a bye, in which they historically do well in their return game, so they should have the upper hand. I don’t think Levis is going to do anything special to quell the noise and I feel the Titans defense is going to do enough to keep the Titans in the game. Titans win 24-17 to go 2-3.
