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Week 8 Game Recap: Indianapolis Colts 21, Tennessee Titans 31
What you need to know
| Indianapolis Colts |
QB Peyton Manning finished with good numbers thanks to three touchdowns, two passing and one rushing touchdown which came very late in the game. The Colts offensive line did a good job of protecting Manning throughout the game against a very good Titans pass rush. But the Tennessee defense did an even a better job of taking away Manning's receivers, limiting all of them to only 68 yards receiving. Manning's was able find TE Dallas Clark for two touchdown passes who had no problem getting open throughout the game.
RB Dominic Rhodes got off to slow start but, had decent numbers against a very good run defense, gaining 70 yards on 17 carries and catching eight passes for 39 yards. Manning threw a lot to Rhodes as Tennessee did an excellent job in coverage down the field. He almost added touchdown late in the game but, he came up about a half foot short of the goal line.
WR Reggie Wayne and WR Marvin Harrison were both shut down in this game as they were held to a combined four receptions for 41 yards. TE Dallas Clark did have a great game as he was able to get open throughout game and take advantage of coverage mismatches. Clark had seven catches for 94 yards, including two touchdown receptions.
| Tennessee Titans |
QB Kerry Collins who didn't have as good of numbers in this game as Manning, but was able to out duel him by leading his team on critical 14 play, 80 yard touchdown drive late in the third quarter and then converted a two point conversion to tie the game. Collins threw for 193 yards in the game with no touchdown or turnovers, and managed the game well for the Titans. He did have one great opportunity for touchdown when TE Alge Crumpler got open but, Collins overthrew him in the end zone.
RB Chris Johnson played well as he had a combined 96 yards of offense in the game and got a touchdown late in the game on a nice 16 yard run down the right side of the field. He did struggle at times as the Colts speedy defense did a pretty good job of containing him most of the game and his longest play from scrimmage was the 16 yard touchdown run. RB LenDale White did what he does best, scored twice on two goal line touchdowns. Outside of the two scores, White did little in the game as he had only 13 yards on ten carries.
TE Bo Scaife was the Titans' leading receiver with five catches for 44 yards. More importantly, Scaife was targeted a game high 12 times during the game as Collins targeted his tight ends 17 times, three more times then his wide receivers.
What you ought to know
| QB Peyton Manning, Pass: 26 - 41 - 223 - 2 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 1 |
Manning got off to a good start and after getting great field position on there second position of the game, he led the Colts 37 yards down the field for a score. He found an open TE Dallas Clark for a ten yard touchdown pass for his first touchdown pass. But that would be his only highlight of the first half. Manning had an interception in the second quarter after the ball was deflected into the arms of a Titans' defensive back. He would have another pick late in the game. He finished the first half 11 for 17 for 104 yards and one touchdown. Manning would lead Indianapolis down the field on the first drive of the second half and he would find Clark again over the middle for his second touchdown pass of the game. He would add a one yard rushing touchdown late in the game. The Colts line did give Manning time to throw throughout the game but, he had trouble finding his wide receivers down the field. He was forced to either pass underneath the coverage or go to Clark who was able to get open throughout the game.
| RB Dominic Rhodes, Rush: 17 - 70 - 0, Rec: 8 - 39 - 0 (8 targets) |
Rhodes did very little in the first half until late in the second quarter when he had a few nice carries for positive yards. He had ten carries for only 27 yards in the first half as the Titans did a good job of shutting down most of the running lanes in the first half. He had a much better second half as added 70 more yards in total offense. Rhodes almost had a late touchdown but was stopped just short of the goal line. He did have eight receptions for 39 in the game as QB Peyton Manning had trouble finding his receivers down the field and he was forced to throw down to his check down receiver often in the game.
| RB Chad Simpson, Rush: 4 - 23 - 0, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (1 targets) |
Simpson had a nice run up the middle for nine yards in the third quarter but that was his first carry of the game. He would add a ten yard carry later in the half, but Simpson played sparingly.
| RB Joseph Addai |
Addai was out of this game because of the hamstring injury he is still nursing.
| WR Anthony Gonzalez, Rec: 4 - 27 - 0 (4 targets) |
Gonzalez was not much of a factor in this game and caught most of his passes late in the game as the Colts tried to rally from a deficit. Clearly the Colts passing game to this point is a shell of what it has been in the past, and as the number three wide receiver in this offense, Gonzalez has struggled to make much of impact most weeks.
| WR Reggie Wayne, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (9 targets) |
Wayne only had two receptions for 15 yards in the first of the game as he and all the Colts' receivers had a hard time of gaining separation from the Titans' secondary. QB Peyton Manning tried to go deep to him early in the second half but, the pass was off the mark as the Titans' pass rush forced an inaccurate pass. Wayne got injured at the end of the third quarter but, he returned to the field on the next play. Wayne struggled getting open all game and was doubled team through most of the game.
| WR Marvin Harrison, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (6 targets) |
Harrison had only one catch for 12 yards in the first half as the Tennessee secondary did a great job of taking the Colts' receivers out of the game. The Indianapolis wideouts had only had three catches for 27 yards in the first half. QB Peyton Manning tried to go to him in the end zone early in the second half but, former Colt CB Nick Harper knocked the ball down at the last minute on what would have been a big play. Harrison looked very old in this game and clearly appears to have lost a step.
| TE Dallas Clark, Rec: 7 - 94 - 2 (12 targets) |
He caught a big 26 yard pass early in the game and then came back two plays later to catch a 10 yard pass for his first touchdown of the game. He finished the first half with four catches for 58 yards. Clark got his second touchdown of the game on the Colts first drive of the second half when he got open again over the middle for a 19 yard reception. Clark seemed like the only Indianapolis receiver who could get open down the field and was able to exploit mismatches against linebackers and safeties who tried to cover him.
| PK Adam Vinatieri 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points |
Vinatiteri had no field goal attempts in the game but did have three extra points.
| IND Rush Defense |
In the first half of the game, the Colts defense used a combination of eight men in the box and its speed on defense to bottle up RB Chris Johnson and the Titans' running attack. The Titans did a pretty good job of containing Johnson throughout the game.
| IND Pass Defense |
The Colts struggled to get a consistent pass rush on the Titans and did not force a turnover and get a sack.
| QB Kerry Collins, Pass: 24 - 37 - 193 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 2 - -2 - 0 |
Collins did a good job of managing the offense in the first half even though he only threw for 73 yards. He led the team down the field twice in the first half but, they had to settle for only two field goals. The offense bogged down in the red zone both times as the Colts defense often put eight guys in the box and challenged the Titans' to throw the ball. Collins led the Titans on impressive 14 play, 80 yard touchdown drive in the third quarter and then tied the game with a two point conversion pass to FB Ahmard Hall on a roll out. This drive was the turning point in the game and Collins was able to lead the offense to 17 points in the fourth quarter. Collins over threw a wide open TE Alge Crumpler in the second half for his only real scoring opportunity in the game. His favorite target in the game was TE Bo Scaife who had 12 targets.
| RB Chris Johnson, Rush: 19 - 77 - 1, Rec: 4 - 19 - 0 (4 targets) |
Johnson was bottled up early in the first half as the Colts team speed did a good job of containing him. He got some good runs in the second quarter as the line opened some holes and the passing game made some plays to keep the Indianapolis defense honest. He had a combined 61 yards of offense in the first half. Johnson would have a quiet second half until busting off a 16 yard touchdown run off the right side late in the game. It wasn't Johnson's best game but he still put good numbers despite the fact it was clear the Colts' defense game planned to stop Johnson and the running game.
| RB LenDale White, Rush: 10 - 13 - 2, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (2 targets) |
White did not see a lot of action in the first half as he had two carries for negative three yards. White got three consecutive goal line carries in the third quarter and finally punched it on his last try for a one yard score. Whit got a second goal line score late in the game as he made a nice lunging play to get the ball over the into the end zone. Aside from his two big goal line scores, White was pretty ineffective in running the ball.
| WR Brandon Jones, Rec: 4 - 40 - 0 (5 targets) |
Jones had two catches for 20 yards in the first half. Jones almost got into the end zone when he caught a big pass underneath the coverage and took it to the two yard line on a 15 yard play.
| WR Justin McCareins, Rec: 2 - 30 - 0 (3 targets) |
McCareins, who is coming off a hamstring injury which prevented him from playing last week, didn't catch his first pass until the third quarter but, it was the Titans longest play from scrimmage in the game, a 23 yard catch on a deep out.
| WR Justin Gage, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (5 targets) |
Gage had only one catch for six yards in the game and dropped a big pass on a third down that would have kept a drive alive deep in Indianapolis territory in the fourth quarter.
| TE Bo Scaife, Rec: 5 - 44 - 0 (12 targets) |
Scaife was QB Kerry Collins favorite target throughout the game and he had nine balls thrown his way in the first half alone. He had four catches for 28 yards in the half and had only one catch for 16 yards in the second half. Scaife was targeted a game high 12 times in the game.
| TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 4 - 35 - 0 (5 targets) |
Crumpler got open on pass that would have been a touchdown in the fourth quarter but, he was over thrown by QB Kerry Collins.
| PK Rob Bironas 3 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 11 points |
Bironas made a 34 yard field goal on the Titans' first drive of the game. He would add a 44 yard kick in the second quarter but, would miss a 43 yard kick later in the game. Bironas would come back and hit a big 48 yard kick early in the fourth quarter to give the Tennessee the lead late in the game.
| TEN Rush Defense |
Tennessee did an adequate job on run defense holding the Colts to 94 yards rushing. They did make a couple of big stops in short yardage situations.
| TEN Pass Defense |
The Titans were without one of their best pass rushers, as DE Kyle Vanden Bosch was out with a groin injury. The Titans did very little blitzing in this game and didn't get a great pass rush on QB Peyton Manning. They did do an excellent job of taking out the Colts' receivers. DB Chris Hope had two interceptions in the game.
