INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Indianapolis Colts (7-1) were a rare two-touchdown betting favorite going into Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans (1-7), and they made it look like child's play from the get-go, thumping their little brothers in the AFC South by a score of 38-14.

The Colts got out to an early 10-0 lead at Lucas Oil Stadium, earning points on each of their first two drives before Tennessee responded with their own touchdown. From there, it was all Colts, all the time.

Led by Jonathan Taylor forcing a running back into the NFL's MVP discussion, the league's leading rusher added another 174 yards of offense and three touchdowns to his tally as the crowd chanted "MVP!" after each score.

FIRST QUARTER

The Colts won the coin toss and took the opening kickoff. The drive began quite well, with a 12-yard run by Jonathan Taylor and receptions of 11 and 18 yards by Josh Downs, and 19 yards by Alec Pierce. However, a screen pass from Daniel Jones to Ashton Dulin on 1st-and-10 from the Tennessee 18-yard line was doomed early, as it resulted in an eight-yard loss. It forced the Colts to regroup and derailed the drive, as they settled for a 43-yard field goal from Michael Badgley to go up 3-0.

On the Titans' next drive, after converting 3rd-and-10 deep in their own territory with a 21-yard pass completion, the Colts' defense made up for it and finished the job later. On a 3rd-and-6 near midfield, defensive end Laiatu Latu and cornerback Kenny Moore II converged on Titans quarterback Cam Ward to force a punt.

Colts running back Jonathan Taylor continued his dominant day (and season) on the Colts' following drive, punctuating an eight-play drive with an 18-yard rushing touchdown. The Colts went up, 10-0, at the end of the first quarter.

SECOND QUARTER

The Titans answered the Colts' touchdown with authority. On a 3rd-and-6 just inside Colts' territory, Tyjae Spears picked up 41 yards down the right sideline to get inside the Colts' five-yard line. On the next play, Ward found tight end Gunnar Helm for a one-yard touchdown, which cut the Colts' lead to 10-7.

The Colts fired right back on the ensuing drive, as Michael Pittman Jr. made catches of 11, 14, and 21 yards; the last of which was a perfectly-placed pass from Jones that Pittman caught with one arm. The score put the Colts up 17-7 with 7:44 remaining in the first half.

The two side then traded four consecutive punts before the Titans attempted a 58-yard field goal at the end of the first half, which missed, wide right.

THIRD QUARTER

The Colts busted the game open in the third quarter. After forcing a Titans punt on the opening drive of the second half, the Colts' next drive last exactly one play, as Taylor took is 80 yards to the end zone on the first play of the drive for his second touchdown of the game. The score put the Colts up, 24-7, with 11:30 remaining in the quarter.

After forcing another punt on Tennessee's following drive, the Colts went 74 yards in eight plays to put another touchdown on the board. Jones turned the heat back on after a lull in the middle of the game, and the receivers followed suit. On the drive, Pittman had an 18-yard catch-and-run where he kept his feet in bounds to pick up more yards. Pierce had a 50-yard catch on 3rd-and-13, and then Downs caught a 10-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-8 to put the Colts up 31-7 with 5:12 remaining in the third quarter.

FOURTH QUARTER

The Colts continued the onslaught into the fourth quarter, as Taylor took a shovel pass from Jones and barreled into the end zone from 19 yards out for his third touchdown of the game. It became his fourth game with three-plus touchdowns of the season. Badgley's extra point made it 38-7 with 14:22 left in the game.

As of midway through the fourth quarter, the Colts' defense had yet to force a turnover in the game, which would be the first time all season that they'd failed to do so. That ended when cornerback Chris Lammons intercepted a Ward pass in the end zone on 4th-and-Goal from the Indy 16-yard line.

After the Colts pulled their starters, the Titans showed one more sign of life, putting the ball in the end zone on a three-yard run by Tyjae Spears to make it 38-14.

Jake Arthur has been covering the Indianapolis Colts for over a dozen years and is a member of the PFWA. He's one half of the Locked On Colts podcast and has worked for the Colts' official website, On SI, and more. You can follow him on X @JakeArthurNFL. 

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