The Titans are officially in the win column.
The seats have gotten even hotter for Colts head coach Shane Steichen and general manager Chris Ballard.
Tennessee beat division rival Indianapolis for its first win of the season and first win of the Robert Saleh era on Sunday, using a strong defensive performance with timely special teams plays to record a 26-20 victory.
After tying the game at 13-13 with Carnell Tate’s first career touchdown run early in the fourth quarter, the Titans took a 20-13 lead with a blocked punt returned for a touchdown.
While the Colts responded with a 4-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Taylor, the Titans used a big kick return to set up a go-ahead field goal. The club added another basket to go up by six, which proved to be an insurmountable lead.
The Tennessee defense had three takeaways on the day with two Daniel Jones interceptions and a Taylor fumble. That, along with the special teams touchdown, put the Titans in position to win, despite Indianapolis beating Tennessee 399 to 186. The Colts also had 24 first downs to the Titans’ 11.
Jones finished 22 of 42 for 269 yards with a touchdown and two picks. He also totaled 30 rushing yards on three attempts. The Titans sacked him six times.
Taylor finished with 94 yards on 21 carries with a touchdown, plus two catches for 57 yards.
On the other side, Cam Ward was 11 of 22 for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Tony Pollard totaled 76 yards on 19 carries. Carnell Tate led with 70 yards on six catches.
In the win column, the 1-5 Titans will be at home next week to face the 4-2 Browns.
The Colts are now off to a disappointing start at 2-4. With Ballard in the final year of his contract and Steichen failing to make the playoffs in his previous three seasons as coach, both men’s job security is firmly in question.
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