Saleh Reacts to Cam Ward, Titans' Upset Win vs. Colts After Being 'Punching Bag of' NFL

It would have been easy for the Tennessee Titans to fold and go through the motions for the rest of the season after a 26-3 loss to the Houston Texans dropped their record to 0-5, but they did the opposite and responded with a 26-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.

Head coach Robert Saleh reflected on the effort that took.

"This was our hardest week of practice," he said, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. "Not necessarily because of the work we put in but because it's hard when you're 0–5 and you just got punched in the mouth by a division opponent after what you felt was progress. And you're the punching bag of the entire league. And that, to me, is where everyone can say, 'I'm done.' 

"And it was a hard week. There was a lot of truth told. There was a lot of discussions had, and the resilience of the group to stand up, wake up this morning and make the decision to go win a football game, make the plays and accept the challenges that were made, we got the right guys in this group. We got the right guys in this locker room. They're all made of the right stuff."

There was resilience within the game, as the Titans overcame a 13-3 deficit in the second half.

▶️ Full Titans-Colts Recap

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Carnell Tate started the comeback with a fourth-quarter touchdown catch before the Tennessee special teams gave the visitors the lead with a touchdown on a punt block. While the Colts tied it with fewer than six minutes remaining, the Titans added two field goals down the stretch to leave with the win.

It was the franchise's first win since Dec. 21 of last year, but Saleh believes things are going to turn around in the future.

"This organization is going to have its day in the sun," he said. "We're going to win a lot of football games here. And typically when you're trying to rebuild something, you're always going to run into one of these weeks. And I thought our guys passed the test with flying colors."

This is Saleh's first season as the head coach of the Titans after previous stops as the head coach of the New York Jets and defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers. 

Despite the victory, it will likely take some time for the Titans to start contending for playoff spots as they focus on a rebuild in the immediate future. But Sunday's outcome seemed like an important step in that process and drew praise from the head coach.