Now, they head on the road for the first time, traveling south to take on a rival Titans team that is still in the beginning stages of a rebuild around No. 1 pick Cam Ward. Indianapolis will be favored for a 1 p.m. Sunday start in Nissan Stadium, playing in the shadows of the construction of Tennessee’s new stadium, a metaphor for the state of the roster.
The Colts (2-0) need to take care of the Titans (0-2) to take firm early control of the AFC South.
But the matchup is more interesting than it seems.
1. Daniel Jones has faced blitzes on more than half his dropbacks so far. Tennessee has blitzed on 23.7% of its snaps so far, 14th in the NFL.
2. The Titans have just two sacks, second-worst in the league.
3. Tennessee also ranks 31st in sacks per pass attempt.
4. Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons has one sack and six quarterback hits, more than half of Tennessee’s 11 hits on the passer so far.
5. Safety Amani Hooker is the only other Titan with a sack.
Titans pass rush vs. Daniel Jones and Colts offensive line
6. Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann has given up a sack and been flagged four times already, although two have been declined.
7. Titans edge rushers have recorded just three quarterback hits.
8. Indianapolis has allowed just two sacks, and the Colts rank fourth in the NFL in sack percentage, allowing takedowns on just 3.17% of plays.
9. Jones ranks eighth in the NFL in time from snap to throw, averaging 2.65 seconds.
10. The Colts haven’t avoided sacks by taking a dink-and-dunk approach. Jones is averaging 8.4 intended air yards per pass, 11th-most in the NFL.
11. Veteran Titans edge rusher Arden Key did have 6.5 sacks last season, but he’s still searching for his first quarterback hit in 2025.
12. Key did block an extra point against the Rams last week.
13. Indianapolis’ interior trio — Quenton Nelson, Tanor Bortolini and Matt Goncalves — has allowed just one pressure apiece so far, according to Sports Info Solutions.
Jonathan Taylor vs. Titans run defense
14. Tennessee’s run defense has given up 5.5 yards per carry and 150 rushing yards per game, ranking 29th and 30th in the NFL, respectively.
15. Colts running back Jonathan Taylor leads the NFL in carries (43) and yards (236).
16. Indianapolis gave Taylor 66 snaps (92.9%) against Denver, a heavy workload for any running back.
17. Rookie running back DJ Giddens carried 12 times in the season opener, but he wasn’t given a single carry against Denver.
18. The Colts are also using Taylor in the passing game again. Taylor has five catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.
19. Jones hasn’t been asked to use his legs much on designed runs. The Colts quarterback is averaging just 2.2 yards per carry, which would be the lowest mark of his career by a wide margin.
20. Indianapolis has used Jones’s legs primarily in short yardage. Jones has converted 5 of 6 quarterback sneaks so far, scoring three touchdowns.
21. Tennessee has already allowed three rushing touchdowns.
22. Indianapolis has not turned the ball over yet, one of six teams that hasn’t lost a fumble or thrown an interception.
23. Tennessee ranks second in the NFL with five takeaways — three interceptions, two fumbles.
24. Titans cornerback Jarvis Brownlee left briefly against the Rams last week. If he cannot go, Tennessee would turn to a former Colt, Darrell Baker Jr.
25. If Brownlee plays, he’s been flagged three times for 36 yards.
26. Tennessee’s other cornerback, L’Jarius Sneed, leads the team with three pass breakups.
27. The Titans’ secondary has allowed seven passes of 20 yards or more, tied for eighth-most in the NFL.
28. Indianapolis has seven completions of 20 yards or more, tied for seventh in the NFL.
Colts passing game vs Titans pass defense
29. Six Colts already have four catches or more through the first two games.
30. Rookie tight end Tyler Warren’s team-leading 11 catches are tied for fourth-most by a tight end through his first two games in NFL history.
31. Jones is averaging 9.3 yards per attempt, the most in the NFL.
32. Six of the seven Colts receivers with a catch so far are averaging more than 10 yards per reception. Slot receiver Josh Downs is the only receiver below the mark, averaging 7.9 yards on eight catches.
33. Michael Pittman Jr. looks much more like the player who averaged nearly 100 catches for three seasons from 2021 to 2023.
34. Pittman has the only Colts’ drop so far.
35. Deep threat Alec Pierce is off to a good start, averaging 20.8 yards per catch.
36. Jones is one of seven quarterbacks completing more than 70% of his passes so far.
37. Despite facing 37 blitzes, Jones has been pressured on just 16.9% of snaps, according to Pro Football Reference.
38. The Colts set an NFL record by scoring on their first 10 possessions of the season.
39. Indianapolis still hasn’t punted. Rigoberto Sanchez’s only attempt was wiped out by a penalty.
40. The Colts rank sixth in the NFL on third down, converting 46.4% of chances.
41. Tennessee has allowed conversions on 40.7% of third downs, 17th in the NFL.
The Colts’ offense is struggling in the red zone
42. Indianapolis is just 26th in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on only 41.7% of trips.
43. The Titans have been a top-10 defense in the red zone, allowing opponents to convert only 44.4%.
44. Second-year Colts kicker Spencer Shrader leads the NFL with nine field goals.
45. Shrader’s career long is still only 48 yards. A leverage penalty wiped out his only attempt longer than 50 yards so far.
46. Colts special teams coordinator Brian Mason believes Shrader’s kickoffs can be more accurate.
47. Tennessee return man Chimere Dike is off to a good start, averaging 16.3 yards per punt and 25.2 per kickoff.
48. Despite some hiccups, Indianapolis is allowing 24.3 yards per kickoff return, good for 11th in the league, although that does not include the penalties the Colts have drawn on kickoffs.
49. The Titans have been the league’s most penalized team, drawing 23 flags through the first two games.
50. Indianapolis has been flagged 15 times, but that’s tied for 15th. NFL referees often throw more flags early in the season.
51. Tennessee’s coverage units have struggled. The Titans have allowed 10.2 yards per punt return, 18th in the NFL, and 27 yards per kickoff return, 25th.
52. Colts return man Anthony Gould could use a spark. Gould is averaging just two yards per punt return.
53. Veteran Titans punter Johnny Hekker can still boom it. He’s averaging 49.6 yards per punt, and he already has a 65-yarder this season.
54. Tennessee kicker Joey Slye is 8 of 8, including three kicks from more than 50 yards.
55. The Indianapolis offense has averaged 35:25 in time of possession, the third-most in the NFL. Tennessee’s offense might not get many chances.
56. Titans running back Tony Pollard has 38 of the team’s 47 carries.
57. Dike has three, Ward has four and Julius Chestnut has two, the only other running back with a carry.
58. Tennessee is averaging just 3.8 yards per carry (23rd) and 90 rushing yards per game (24th).
59. The Indianapolis run defense could use a reprieve. The Colts have allowed 5.44 yards per carry so far, the fourth-worst mark in the NFL.
60. Veteran Titans guard Kevin Zeitler left last week’s game with an elbow injury. If Zeitler can’t go, Tennessee’s already-thin line will be week on the interior. Veteran Blake Hance took over for Zeitler last week.
61. Titans right tackle JC Latham missed last week’s game against the Rams. If Latham and Zeitler are out against the Colts, Tennessee will be missing the entire right side of the offensive line.
Is the Colts pass rush about to look better?
62. Indianapolis has just three sacks on the season.
63. The Titans might be the fix the Colts need. Tennessee has given up an NFL-high 11 sacks.
64. Like a lot of rookie quarterbacks, Ward will hold the ball. The No. 1 pick is averaging 2.89 seconds to throw the ball, higher than a lot of quarterbacks but far from the slowest in the league.
65. The health of Colts defensive end Laiatu Latu will be key this week. Latu missed the Denver game due to a hamstring injury, and Indianapolis failed to record a sack or quarterback hit without him in the lineup.
66. Latu’s the only Indianapolis defensive end with the speed to chase down Ward, a scrambler who has made his best plays this season on the move.
67. Defensive end Samson Ebukam leads the Colts with four pressures, per Sports Info Solutions.
68. Nose tackle Grover Stewart has three, including a pair of pressures that have led to interceptions.
69. Denver relentlessly doubled defensive tackle DeForest Buckner with Latu out of the lineup, but the Broncos’ offensive line is widely regarded as one of the NFL’s best. Tennessee’s line is on the other end of the spectrum.
70. Defensive ends Kwity Paye and Tyquan Lewis do not have a pressure so far this season.
71. Ward hasn’t been blitzed much this season. The rookie has faced just nine blitzes so far, according to Pro Football Reference.
72. New Colts defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has blitzed 26.5% of the time, 10th-most in the NFL.
The Colts aren’t missing tackles this season
73. Indianapolis has missed just nine tackles through the first two games, a significant turnaround from leading the NFL in missed tackles in 2024.
74. Ward has been chucking the ball downfield. The rookie is averaging 8.8 intended air yards per attempt, the sixth-highest mark in the league.
75. The approach hasn’t worked. Because of the sacks, the Titans rank dead-last in the NFL in passing, averaging an abysmal 3.4 yards per dropback.
76. Veteran wide receiver Calvin Ridley leads Tennessee with seven catches for 84 yards.
77. Ridley also has three drops already.
78. Veteran Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward missed last week’s game with a concussion. If Ward is back, Ridley would be the likely matchup for him.
79. If Ward is not back, and even if he is, Tennessee will likely try to target Xavien Howard. Howard struggled mightily against Denver, allowing seven catches, drawing three flags and missing a tackle in a difficult performance.
80. Rookie Titans wide receiver Elic Ayomanor has been encouraging, catching six passes for 69 yards and Ward’s only touchdown pass so far.
81. Tight end Chig Okonko has seven catches for just 54 yards, unable to stretch teams over the middle of the field.
82. Colts middle linebacker Zaire Franklin has allowed six catches in seven attempts, according to Pro Football Reference.
83. Franklin and weak-side linebacker Cameron McGrone have allowed the highest yards per attempt.
84. Ward, slot cornerback Kenny Moore II and rotational cornerback Mekhi Blackmon are all allowing fewer than 7.0 yards per attempt.
85. Strong safety Nick Cross has been excellent so far. Cross leads the Colts with 13 tackles, has one of the team’s three sacks and has allowed just one catch in five attempts in his area.
86. Blackmon is the team’s speed option at cornerback. Longtime Seahawk Tyler Lockett was always a deep threat in Seattle, but he is now 32 years old.
87. Tennessee’s longest completion of the year is just 29 yards.
88. Veteran Joe Bachie was given 47 snaps to just eight for McGrone after splitting time evenly in the opener. Indianapolis opened with a rotation on the weak side, but it appears Bachie is pulling ahead.
89. Free safety Camryn Bynum has two interceptions in two weeks, roaming over the top and lethal if a quarterback overthrows a receiver.
90. Bynum can also play in the box. Indianapolis used a three-safety dime look at times against the Broncos, but the plan could change based on Tennessee’s offense and Ward’s availability.
91. Indianapolis ranks fifth in the NFL in yards per game (267.5), but the Colts are 20th in yards allowed per play (5.4).
92. The Colts have allowed just 5.6 yards per dropback despite the lack of pressure, ranking eighth in the NFL.
Colts defense is struggling in the red zone
93. Indianapolis ranks dead-last in the NFL in the red zone, allowing touchdowns on 100% of an opponent’s trips so far.
94. Tennessee’s offense has scored touchdowns on just 20% of its red zone trips, 30th in the NFL.
95. The Colts have also struggled on third down, ranking 24th in the NFL while allowing 47.4% conversions.
96. The Titans are 31st in the league on third down, converting just 27.6%.
97. Second-round defensive end JT Tuimoloau has played just five defensive snaps so far.
98. Ward has just eight yards on four carries so far.
99. Buckner leads the Colts with two tackles-for-loss.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
