Colts’ win over Packers can’t distract them from crucial Week 12 matchup vs Titans
By Daniel Davis
The Colts are riding high on one of the best wins of the season, but that can’t distract them in Week 12.
It’s no secret the Colts and Titans are battling for supremacy in the AFC South. This week, the Colts will have a prime opportunity to take a one-game lead in the division with just five games to go.
Whatever Colts fans think of the Titans, they are a team that will be hard to beat. The Colts already took care of business two weeks ago at Nissan Stadium, where they beat the Titans 34-17 in a tough road game. The beginning of that contest didn’t look promising, however.
Regardless, the Colts outscored the Titans 21-0 in the second half and contained Derrick Henry for the most part. They followed the same blueprint last week after outscoring the Packers 20-3 in the second half, improving their run in the final two quarters to a 41-3 run. Pretty impressive.
Colts have outscored the Packers and Titans 41-3 in the second half the last two weeks, two teams that each made their conference title game last January.
— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) November 23, 2020
But this week, the Titans are riding high off a win against the Ravens, a team that beat the Colts three weeks ago by two touchdowns. The Titans played tough, smash-mouth football and got the best of Baltimore once again after upsetting them in a colossal way during last year’s playoff run.
Currently, the Colts and Titans are both 7-3, with Indy owning the tie-breaker. With a win this week, the Colts could really put a stranglehold on the division, especially because they have to face the Steelers and Raiders on the road down the stretch, which won’t be easy matchups.
AFF Playoff Picture for Colts
As it stands right now, the Colts are in first place in the AFC South and fourth place in the AFC playoff picture behind the Bills at 7-3. The first two seeds are the Steelers (10-0) and the Chiefs (9-1). The Colts need to win every game for the remainder of the season if they hope to play at home for a few games in the playoffs this year. That’s unlikely, but a win over the Titans will likely guarantee them one home playoff game.
Matt Eberflus says the #Colts focus is internal this week. Playing Titans for the second time in 17 days, will look back and see what they can fix from the first meeting. But it’s more about doing what they do to the best of their ability.
— George Bremer (@gmbremer) November 24, 2020
If they can go 5-1 during this stretch and get to 12-4, there’s a great chance the Colts will get the No. 3 seed considering the Bills play the Patriots, Broncos, 49ers, Steelers, Dolphins and Chargers to close out the year.
As coach Frank Reich says, the goal is to go 1-0 in every week. Last week was a statement win and showed what their offense is capable of. While it felt good, this week is just as important, if not more, and the Colts can’t overlook Tennessee despite the big win over Aaron Rodgers and Co.
The Titans offense rebounded in a big way against one of the league’s best defenses, so you can bet Ryan Tannehill, AJ Brown and Henry will be ready for their Round 2 battle against the Colts with considerable playoff seeding on the line.
