The Indianapolis Colts are riding high after their 2-0 start to the 2025 season. They demolished the Dolphins in Week 1, but were lucky to pull off the win versus the Broncos in Week 2. A solid win against the Titans will quell any doubts.
It's one thing to beat a bad team like Miami. There can't be much doubt that they're in a steep downward spiral. Rising to the challenge against a solid team like the Broncos, though, thats's different animal.
That proved that the Colts are a resilient - and darn lucky - team. It wasn't all great by any means, but the guys wearing horseshoes had more winners than losers, and that's what counts in the end.
The Titans will be a tougher challenge than they appear for the Indianapolis Colts
I'm not sold on the recent ranking of the Colts as the seventh-best team in the league. Daniel Jones certainly deserves his share of the credit, as does Jonathan Taylor, Nick Cross, and several other key members of the team. But lets face it, the defense wasn't great.
When you don't put the quarterback on the ground once, you're not playing winning football. If not for that questionable leverage penalty, Indy is 1-1 heading into this contest. And this is a tougher game than it looks.
Allow me to display my powers of clairvoyance. At this very moemnt, you're saying, "This guys is an idiot. The Titans suck! No way the Colts lose to this frikking team." You probably added some more colorful language, but I had to clean it up for publication.
In the narrow sense, you're correct. The Tennessee Titans are a bad team; a very bad one. At least, that's how they've played so far. Their offense is pitiful. They rank 30th in points scored and dead last in yardage.
Rookie quarterback Cam Ward is going through the growing pains virtually every rookie QB show when thrown into the fire. Remember, Peyton Manning led the NFL in interceptions his rookie season.
The Titans defense isn't that much better. They rank 23rd in points allowed, and have surrendered touchdowns on 44 percent of red zone attempts so far. That qulaifies as not good. So how can I say with any confidence at all that this sad excuse for a team poses any threat to the mighty Colts, who are riding so high?
Well for one thing, the Titans played a couple of pretty good teams so far. They lost to the Rams last week, 33-19. And the Broncos handed them the loss in the season opener, 20-12. Yes, that Colts just beat that same team.
But Indianapolis also gave up 28 points at home to that squad. Tennessee went on the road and held them to a pair of touchdowns and a couple of field goals. And, yes I'm reminding you again, the Colts only won becuase of that last-second penalty.
But it really isn't about how good or bad the Titans are. It's about how good the Colts can be. The team is coming off a major high with that big win at at home. They're 2-0 in the conference and have a one-game lead in the division. And Indianapolis is 4-0 against Tennessee over the last two seasons. That all looks great.
But this is the first road game of the season, and the first division game as well. Indianapolis was just 3-6 on the road last year. I'm not saying they're looking past the Titans - it is a division game, after all - but they're facing a much tougher squad next week in the Rams.
After the emotional high of the win over Denver, a bit of a letdown would be normal. This week, the Colts have the opportunity to prove the 2-0 start wasn't just luck.