Colts vs. Titans: Indianapolis Grades, Notes and Quotes

If Andrew Luck has done one thing better than most throughout his career, it's battling back from seemingly insurmountable odds to secure victory. He did it again Sunday, as the Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Texans 35-33.

The Colts looked dead and buried against the Titans, with Luck playing poorly, the offensive line struggling again and the defense unable to stop Marcus Mariota, but great touchdown catches by Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett and a pair of interceptions by Dwight Lowery gave Indianapolis another fourth-quarter comeback victory.

Tennessee had a chance to tie it late with a pair of two-point conversion attempts, but the defense did just enough to keep the Titans out of the end zone and secure Indy's first win of the season.

For three quarters the Titans outplayed the Colts, though, and the result was a bit of an anomaly. A pair of bad interceptions by Luck deep in Indianapolis territory gave Tennessee the advantage, and another poor showing from the secondary almost cost the team the game.

But a win is a win, and after starting the season 0-2, the Colts will take the victory however they can get it. They keep the streak against division opponents alive, which is a huge factor if Indianapolis is going to find its way to the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season.

Position Grades for Colts

James Kenney/Associated Press

Position	Grade
QB	C
RB	B
WR	A
TE	C
OL	D+
DL	C+
LB	C
DB	C-
Special Teams	C+
Coaching	C

It feels like each week is going to be the week that Andrew Luck finally gets it going this season, and yet each week the Colts come away disappointed. Against the Titans, the franchise quarterback had another bad outing, making bad decisions more often than good ones and throwing a pair of interceptions deep in Colts territory that nearly cost the team the game.

The late comeback made things look a lot better than they actually were, as Luck is struggling and doesn't look anywhere near the same player he has been the last three seasons.

Frank Gore was finally able to get going, with two touchdowns in large part because of improved play on the interior of the offensive line. Benching right guard Todd Herremans proved to be a great decision, as the running game finally started to click. Hugh Thornton started in place of an injured Lance Louis, though, and looked awful. The line is improving incrementally but still has a long way to go.

The wide receivers struggled to get separation for most of the game but really turned things around in the fourth quarter. Phillip Dorsett, Donte Moncrief and T.Y. Hilton all contributed big plays to drag the Colts back into the game.

The defensive line had by far its worst outing this year. Looking hesitant because of Marcus Mariota’s rushing ability, the pass rush was almost non-existent, and the Titans took advantage throughout. The linebackers didn’t fare much better and need to improve moving forward.

The return of Vontae Davis from a concussion was supposed to make a difference, but against the Titans it was more of the same out of a thin Colts secondary. Dwight Lowery had a huge game, with a pair of timely interceptions—one of which he returned for a touchdown—largely deciding the game for Indianapolis, but the rest of the unit played poorly yet again. The Colts need to get healthy at cornerback if they want to improve.

Offense Improves, but Luck Still Plays Poorly

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Andrew Luck hasn’t had a day to write home about so far this season, but Sunday against the Titans was supposed to be when he finally got it going. Even with the win, though, it was another bad day for the former top overall draft pick.

Facing off against Marcus Mariota, Luck looked more like the rookie of the two and was poor in almost every aspect of the game. Holding onto the ball too long, staring down his receivers, throwing picks and just making bad reads, Luck’s play has hit its lowest point since he went first overall in the 2012 draft.

Even his highlight-reel plays—a bomb to T.Y. Hilton and touchdowns to Phillip Dorsett and Donte Moncrief—weren’t great decisions; they worked out because of great catches by the receivers involved.

There was a lot of drama during the week leading up to the game, with Chuck Pagano calling out his quarterback and later attempting to clarify his statements after a poor performance Monday night, and a subpar outing against the Titans—even if it was a win—likely will only sour things even more.

After patching together the offensive line and seeing improvements there, the Colts desperately need Luck to find his form, or they risk falling even farther behind the pack in the AFC.

Offensive Line Shakeup Has Mixed Results

James Kenney/Associated Press

The Colts offensive line has been arguably the team's weakest unit so far this year, being absolutely punished in the opening two weeks against blitz-heavy game plans from the Jets and the Bills. With a win against the Titans absolutely necessary, there was a serious shakeup on the line in the hopes of sparking some life into the unit.

Hugh Thornton replaced Lance Louis, who was out with a shoulder injury, but moved to the right side of the line with Jack Mewhort moving from right tackle to left guard. Joe Reitz claimed the vacant right tackle position, with Todd Herremans moving to the bench after a poor start to the year at right guard.

Fortunately for the Colts, Thornton shouldn’t be in the lineup too long with Louis hopefully returning soon, as the guard was arguably the worst player on the field throughout the game. Almost every big passing play was called back for a hold on Thornton, and Andrew Luck still found a defender in his face far too often.

The rushing game found decent success on the interior early on, with Frank Gore scoring his first two touchdowns for the team, but with the Titans jumping out to a big lead in the second half, there wasn’t much chance to evaluate how the run blocking improved until the Colts were back in front late.

The O-line was marginally better against the Titans, but it was still far from where it needs to be if the Colts want to have any hope of salvaging their season.

Indianapolis Needs Its Cornerbacks to Get Healthy and Soon

James Kenney/Associated Press

It feels like piling on to blame the Colts' struggles defensively on the cornerbacks each and every week, but it would be silly to point the finger anywhere else.

Indianapolis failed to get any sort of pass rush against the Titans for the entire game, and while the front seven has to shoulder the blame for some of that, the reluctance to bring extra rushers because of the inexperience of the cornerbacks is the major factor at play.

Vontae Davis returned from injury, but with Jalil Brown making his second consecutive start, the chances at success were bleak. As a result, Marcus Mariota (27-of-44, 367 yards, two touchdowns) had a huge day, finding open receivers almost every time he dropped back.

Two interceptions from Dwight Lowery, one a pick-six, were high points for the Colts, but even the score couldn’t hide the constant success the Titans were finding through the air.

If there is one positive for the Colts in the secondary, outside of Lowery, it has to be the fact that both Greg Toler and Darius Butler should be back anytime now. The performances from the defensive backs can’t get much worse than they have been.

Chuck Pagano on Comeback Win

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Last week, Colts coach Chuck Pagano had a lot to complain about coming off an embarrassing loss to the Jets and didn't hesitate in airing his grievances with the team to the media.

But with the comeback win against the Titans, Pagano's mood in the postgame presser was the opposite of where it was the week before. The coach praised his players for fighting back and doing what they had to do to earn a vital victory, according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:

"

Chuck Pagano: "As gutsy a win as I've ever been apart of ... This was exactly what this team needed."

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) September 27, 2015"

The win was big, as an 0-3 start might have been an early death blow to a Colts team with high expectations. Pagano's praise is well-warranted as things looked dire for Indianapolis entering the fourth quarter. But the overall performance needs to improve, and even an epic comeback can't cover up that fact.

Frank Gore on Andrew Luck's Leadership

Mark Zaleski/Associated Press

Andrew Luck didn't have the best day against the Titans, but, as has become his norm, he turned his play around when it mattered most, leading the Colts to another fourth-quarter comeback for their first victory of the year.

Starting running back Frank Gore, who scored his first two touchdowns for Indianapolis, praised Luck's leadership and ability to rally the team, per Kevin Bowen of Colts.com:

"

Frank Gore on Luck: “He’s tough. Since I’ve been around him, he really loves the game. That makes you want to go the extra mile for him."

— Kevin Bowen (@KBowenColts) September 27, 2015"

Although the struggles continue for Luck this season, getting the win was vital for the Colts' season. Credit has to go to the quarterback for keeping his team from getting down when the game looked out of reach.

Andrew Luck on the Importance of the Win

Weston Kenney/Associated Press

Losing each of their first two games isn't a new situation for the Colts to be in—they did the same thing last year before winning 11 of their last 14 games en route to a division title—but the manner of the defeats at the hands of the Jets and Bills made this season's 0-2 start feel like a much worse situation.

After the hard-fought win against the Titans, Andrew Luck wasn't shy about how much the Colts needed the win, according to Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star:

"

A very honest Andrew Luck postgame: "I don't even want to think about a loss, so I'm not going to. This was was very, very big."

— Zak Keefer (@zkeefer) September 27, 2015"

At 1-2 the Colts are now tied with the rest of the division and have extended their winning streak against the AFC South to 14 games. It wasn't the best performance, but a win was vital to keep the season going, and Indianapolis and Luck delivered.