The Colts will face the Tennessee Titans for the second time this season but this time, they will be on the road against a rookie quarterback in Will Levis.

While both teams still have much to prove this season, they will come into this week on two separate spectrums. The Colts are on a 3-game winning streak and hoping to make it 4 games. The last time the Colts had a 4-game winning streak was back in 2018 (the last time Andrew Luck was QB). The Titans, on the other hand, snapped their 3-game losing streak last week against the struggling Carolina Panthers, but still are a formidable division opponent that the Colts have to deal with.

To go along with the subject of streaks, the Colts have not won in Tennessee since November 12, 2020, when Phillip Rivers was quarterback (they won the game 34-17). It should also be mentioned that until the first meeting this season, the Colts were on a 5-game losing streak to the Titans. The big difference with this season compared to the last three seasons, however, is that this Colts offense is one of the best in the league led by Gardner Minshew and the running game. Another difference is that the Tennessee Titans have not been playing at a high level on defense as they had in previous years.

Indy is a 2-point favorite this week and even without star RB Jonathan Taylor (dealing with a thumb injury), there are only 2 areas that will be big factors in the Colts overcoming another division opponent.

The Defensive Front

The blueprint for beating the Tennessee Titans is to stop Derrick Henry. The issue is that every team knows that and Henry still manages to get 30+ touches and 100+ yards. Against the Colts, Henry’s performance is very productive when healthy and it translates into wins for Tennessee.

The Colts went 2-5 over those 7 games.

This is why the defensive front for Indy will be so crucial. If defenses cannot get Henry tackled in the backfield and instead, let him get into the second level, it’s almost lights out. The Colts have managed Henry Relatively well (all things considered) but the point of emphasis has to be on hitting Henry early in the backfield and wrapping him up early before he gets into the secondary.

The bad news for the Colts is that their run defense has been lacking as of late, especially with Grover Stewart gone on suspension. Therefore, going up against one of the most explosive rushing teams in the league will be a huge challenge. It should be mentioned, however, that the stats on Tennessee’s rushing has been very low this year, but the fact that Derrick Henry is healthy is reason enough for defenses to worry.

Win the Turnover Battle

It goes without saying that the team that wins the turnover battle always has a good shot at winning every game. That is especially true for the Colts as they have yet to win a game when they lose the turnover battle. All 6 wins this season have come when the Colts take the ball away more than they give the ball away.

This Colts defense has played strong against young and inexperienced quarterbacks, so the hope is that rookie QB Will Levis will be no exception. That being said, if Levis is constantly handing the ball off to Derrick Henry and only through 15-20 times, turnovers might be scarce and Gardner Minshew and company will have to minimize the turnovers to 0.

The Final Down

As already mentioned, The Tennessee Titans are not the same Mike Vrabel defense that they once were and the Colts have already proven this season that they can move the ball against them. Even with Jonathan Taylor out due to injury, the running game will be fine with Zack Moss. The Titans secondary is also one that can be broken and if Minshew can protect the football and stay poised in the pocket, the passing attack will be just fine as well. The biggest thing is stopping Derrick Henry and forcing Will Levis to throw. We’ll see how thing shake up, but the Colts are favored by 2 and will pull away in the second half for a convincing 4 straight victory.

Colts – 23

Titans – 13