Philip Rivers, Colts Capitalize on Titans' Special Teams Woes in 34-17 TNF Win

The Indianapolis Colts are now AFC South co-leaders after defeating the host Tennessee Titans 34-17 on Thursday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.

Indianapolis, which trailed 17-13 at halftime, scored 21 unanswered points in the second half thanks to Titans' special teams problems.

Titans punter Trevor Daniel shanked a 17-yard punt, leading to a 27-yard touchdown drive capped by Colts running back Nyheim Hines' two-yard touchdown run to give Indianapolis a 19-17 lead.

Shortly thereafter, E.J. Speed's punt block on the Titans' next possession led to a scoop-and-score for a T.J. Carrie touchdown to put Indianapolis up 26-17.

Backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett entered the game for one play to score Indianapolis' final touchdown on a quarterback sneak.

Hines led the Colts with 115 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns. Titans running back Derrick Henry paced his team's offense with 103 rushing yards.

Notable Performances

Colts QB Philip Rivers: 29-of-39, 308 passing yards, 1 TD

Colts RB Nyheim Hines: 12 carries, 70 rushing yards, 1 TD; 5 receptions, 45 receiving yards, 1 TD

Colts WR Michael Pittman Jr.: 7 receptions, 101 receiving yards; 1 carry, 21 rushing yards

Titans QB Ryan Tannehill: 15-of-27, 147 passing yards, 1 TD

Titans RB Derrick Henry: 19 carries, 103 rushing yards

Titans WR Corey Davis: 5 receptions, 67 receiving yards

Nyheim Hines Breaks Out in Big Win

The Colts dominated the Titans in all three phases of the game. They out-gained Tennessee 430-294 in scrimmage yards and at one point had run 54 offensive plays to the Titans' 25, per Mark Maske of the Washington Post. 

Indianapolis featured offensive, defensive and special teams stars, but no player performed better than Nyheim Hines, who took over the Colts backfield and destroyed the Titans defense in the air and on the ground.

Hines finished with 12 carries for 70 rushing yards, five receptions for 45 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He was quick, elusive and strong as he cut through and overpowered the Titans defense, which was no match for the Colts' attack.

The former North Carolina State star, who turned 24 years old on Thursday, gashed the Titans in the first half on this 12-yard run:

His shiftiness and speed proved beneficial on a 13-yard touchdown catch as he beat linebacker Jayon Brown to the pylon for six:

Nine of Hines' 17 touches went for eight or more yards. He never exploded for a huge play, but he didn't need to as he slowly wore away at the Tennessee defense. 

That was good enough for the win. The Colts' passing game also did work, with rookie Michael Pittman Jr. amassing a career-high 101 receiving yards and veteran quarterback Philip Rivers throwing for 308 yards and one score. 

But Hines was the star here and got deserved recognition from analysts, such as Zak Keefer of The Athletic, NFL Network's Stacey Dales and ESPN's Trey Wingo:

This game wasn't a must-win for the Colts, but it amounted to a two-game divisional swing. A loss would have put them at 5-4 and two games (plus a tiebreaker) behind the Titans. Now they control their own AFC South destiny as they look for grab a divisional crown. They can thank Hines for that Thursday.

Disastrous 4-Minute Stretch Dooms Titans

The Colts began the third quarter with a 15-play, 73-yard drive that ended with no points after the Titans defense stonewalled running back Jordan Wilkins on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line.

In response, Tennessee running back Derrick Henry rushed for 19 yards on three carries to set up 2nd-and-1 at the Titans' 20-yard line, and the home team looked like they were in business up 17-13.

However, everything that could go wrong for the Titans did over the next four minutes.

A rush for no gain and a sack led to a Titans punt that Trevor Daniel shanked out-of-bounds for 17 yards, setting the Colts up at Tennessee's 27-yard line.

A Pittman run around the end set Indianapolis up at the 2-yard line, and Hines punched the ball over the goal line two plays later.

The Colts defense then stiffened for a three-and-out, and special teams issues sprung up once again as E.J. Speed's blocked punt led to T.J. Carrie's scoop-and-score for a touchdown.

To put this entire sequence of events in perspective, ESPN's win probability graph listed the Titans with a 71.7 percent chance at victory after the Henry nine-yard run to set up 2nd-and-1. When the Titans got the ball back down 27-17, that mark shifted to 87.7 percent in favor of the Colts.

Tennessee never got within a score after that moment: A 52-yard drive in response ended with Stephen Gostkowski missing a 44-yard field goal, and the Colts eventually scored another touchdown to put the game out of reach.

This game certainly doesn't fall square on Daniel's shoulders. The offense scored zero second-half points, and the defense couldn't stop the bleeding. Ultimately, the Titans just fell to a better team on Thursday, and now the division race is neck-and-neck down the stretch.

What's Next?

The Colts will host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 4:25 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Titans will visit the Baltimore Ravens in an AFC Divisional Round rematch on the same day at 1 p.m.

Tennessee beat the Ravens 28-12 at Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium to advance to the AFC Championship last season behind 202 scrimmage yards from Henry.

The two teams are now in a heated AFC South race: The 6-3 Colts pulled even with the Titans in the division standings but sit first by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker. The two-win Houston Texans and one-win Jacksonville Jaguars are well out of the playoff picture.