5 takeaways from Colts’ 23-16 win over the Titans

There was plenty of excitement about the future of the Indianapolis Colts with Anthony Richardson and newly extended Jonathan Taylor entering Sunday but it was the backup quarterback and running back that helped lead the Colts in a win over their divisional rivals Tennessee Titans.

The Indy offense was powered behind their offensive line. They dominated the trenches against a stout Tennessee defensive front. Opening up lanes for the backs and protecting whoever was behind them at quarterback.

It was a bend but don’t break day for the Colts defense. Gus Bradley’s unit was outstanding against Derrick Henry but did struggle in coverage on DeAndre Hopkins. The Titans offense was able to move the ball but Indy’s defense did a solid job keeping them out of the endzone besides the one touchdown drive they gave up.

Shane Steichen’s team was able to make plays when it mattered in the fourth quarter. His defense forced a turnover on downs by stuffing Henry on a fourth-and-short. Then his offense was able to follow that up with a 84-yard drive that took 7:03 off the clock and put them up 23-16 with 1:00 left in the game. Julian Blackmon capped it off by picking off Ryan Tannehill to secure the victory for Indianapolis.

Here are five takeaways from the Colts win over the Titans:

Zack Moss leads the way

There was an expectation that Jonathan Taylor would be eased into this Colts offense in his return and Zack Moss certainly took advantage of it. He sparked the offense toward the end of the first quarter with an explosive touchdown run.

Credit to his offensive line, he took advantage of a perfectly blocked run and went untouched for 56 yards for the first touchdown of the game.

It also happened to be the fastest speed of his career according to Next Gen Stats.

Moss continued to be effective with his touches throughout the game and was a vital piece to a successful second half for the Colts. After the Titans took the 17-13 lead to start the third quarter, he had seven carries for 32 yards and a touchdown on the following drive to help retake the lead.

He was responsible for helping Indianapolis burn all that time to help close out the game in the fourth quarter. Moss carried the ball nine times for 37 yards but it was his 26-yard reception on a third-and-five to keep the drive alive that helped get the final three points on the board.

Moss finished with a career-high 195 total yards and two touchdowns. He’s the first Colts running back to run over 100 yards against the Titans since Marlon Mack in 2018.

Shane Steichen has to love that he has a great running back tandem with Moss and Taylor for the rest of this season. Taylor is pretty excited about what the duo can be.

Run defense steps up

It was a night-and-day performance by the Colts run defense compared to last week against the Los Angeles Rams. They limited Derrick Henry to 3.3 YPC on 13 attempts and held the Titans to a total of 89 rushing yards.

The defensive front did a solid job of keeping tight rushing lanes which allowed the linebackers to come up to fill the gaps to keep Henry from breaking off any long runs. Henry’s longest run of the game was eight yards.

The biggest play on Henry came towards the middle of the fourth quarter. Tennessee went for it on fourth-and-short at the Indy five-yard line. DeForest Buckner shed his block to get his hands on Henry and Zaire Franklin flew up the field to stuff Henry short of the sticks.

This was the type of bounce-back game that Gus Bradley needed out of his defense against the run and especially King Henry himself.

Efficient day for the QBs

Unfortunately for the Colts, this was the third game of the season that Gardner Minshew had to take over for Anthony Richardson due to the rookie quarterback exiting the game toward the end of the second quarter with an AC joint sprain.

Richardson was on his way to having one of his best games throwing the ball before his injury. He was 9-of-12 for 98 yards before he fell hard on his right shoulder on a run attempt.

To Shane Steichen’s credit, the offense didn’t miss a beat when Minshew took over. He marched the offense inside the 10-yard line but he failed to connect with a wide-open Kylen Granson on a fourth-and-short.

Minshew would follow that up by guiding three straight scoring drives in the second half. He did a great job at managing the game and taking what the defense gave him to keep drives alive.

Minshew ended the game going 11-of-14 for 155 yards. Both quarterbacks combined going 20-of-26 for 236 yards. The Colts need their franchise quarterback to get and stay healthy but it should help Steichen sleep a little better knowing his offense is in good hands with Minshew.

Offensive line dominates trenches

This was a tough matchup for the Colts offense going against one of the best rush defenses in the NFL but they were able to control the game because of how well their offensive line played throughout the game. They were firing off the ball and giving their backs room to run behind plus were opening up lanes were executed design run plays.

Indy averaged 5.7 YPC on 34 attempts and Moss averaged 7.2 YPC on his 23 carries. This was also the first time the Colts ran over 100 yards against the Titans since their last win in 2020. It wasn’t just the ground game that the offensive line did well against that Tennessee defensive front but they also did a solid job at protecting their quarterbacks.

The Colts only gave up one sack and two QB hits, which the sack and one of the QB hits came from defensive back Roger McCreary. Denico Autry was the only Titans defensive lineman that was able to get his hands on a quarterback.

This was a promising day for Tony Sparano Jr.’s unit and it should hopefully get reinforced if Bernhard Raimann is able to return next week. The Colts need a repeat performance next week against the Jacksonville Jaguars. A defense that got four sacks and six QB hits in the Week 1 contest.

Big day for Josh Downs

Josh Downs has steadily grown as a key contributor for the Colts offense through the first five weeks. He was able to put together his best game of his young rookie season against the Titans. Downs had six receptions for 97 yards.

He seemed like he was always open whenever his quarterbacks looked his way and was able to pick up chunk gains for the offense. Downs picked up a couple of first downs in third-down situations and it was his longest catch of the year (38 yards) that was impressive.

On a third-and-16, Anthony Richardson was able to drop the ball right into Downs’ hands and he was able to hold on after taking a shot from a defender.

This was the second game in a row that Richardson and Downs connected on a 30+ yard gain in a long down situation.

Downs is emerging as a chain mover for Shane Steichen with his effectiveness in the slot. He will help the passing attack evolve, it’s just that the Colts need Richardson to stay healthy so it can come into form.

Story originally appeared on Colts Wire