Week 6 of the NFL season has the Tennessee Titans (1-3) playing their first AFC South game of the campaign against the rival Indianapolis Colts (2-3) Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Week 6 of the NFL season has the Tennessee Titans (1-3) playing their first AFC South game of the campaign against the rival Indianapolis Colts (2-3) Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
It is also the Titans’ third home game of the season and they are still searching for their first win of the year in Nashville, which Head Coach Brian Callahan is putting some urgency on.
“You’d like to finish the season and you’re 6-2 or 7-1 at home. That’s ideally what you’d love to have because there is—playing at home is a big deal and putting a product on the field that people want to come watch is also a part of it. You win games and more people come. You want to make it an environment that’s difficult for other teams to play in. There is an advantage to playing at home when you have the crowd behind you,” he explained. “And again, we’ve got to do a better job of giving them something to be excited about for these home games. But that’s just part of it. You want to make sure that when you are in your home schedule and you’re doing things the right way, that you’re winning those home games. It’s an important part of the process because it’s difficult to go win on the road. But yeah, I would love for our home record to be better than it is and it’s going to need to be over the rest of the season if we want to be in the mix.”
The Titans are coming off of their bye week and took the time to get several players healthy and back on the field, including quarterback Will Levis and defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons.
Levis sprained his throwing shoulder week 4 in Miami, but was able to be full participant in practice all week for the Titans.
The Colts are also getting their quarterback back, as well. Anthony Richardson missed last week’s loss at Jacksonville with what is listed as an oblique injury, but he is expected to start Sunday.
Both quarterbacks need to play better than they have to start the season. Both have struggled with interceptions, while Richardson has also struggled with completion percentage:
Levis in 2024
(67-98) 68.4% 604 yards
Four touchdowns, six interceptions
15 sacks
Richardson in 2024
(39-77) 50.6% 654 yards
Three touchdowns, six interceptions
Four sacks
The Colts enter the weekend with the 32nd ranked defense in the league, and there are only 32 teams. The last three quarterbacks to play the Colts have all thrown for over 300 yards and the Colts are giving up 157 yards rushing a game after getting gashed for over 200 the first two games of the season.
The Titans enter with the top ranked defense in the league after four games, but the Colts’ offensive line will probably be the best one they have faced all season.
Top 3 NFL defenses for 2024
Tennessee Titans 243.8 yards per game
New York Jets 255.8 yards per game
Denver Broncos 271.2 yards per game
As good as the Titans’ defense has been, they have only been able to generate one turnover all season. That came last game in Miami on a failed lateral by the Dolphins. If they can force Richardson into obvious passing situations, they will look to secure their first interception of the season.
Injuries have been an issue for the Colts to start the year, but it looks like they will get a reprieve Sunday in the wide receiver department. Michael Pittman reportedly made the trip and attempt to play despite a back injury that was supposed to keep him out for several weeks. Josh Downs did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with a toe injury, but he is also expected to play.
Indianapolis has been a big play offense all season led by Alec Pierce who has had six of his 13 catches go for over 20 yards and he is averaging 28.3 yards per catch this season.
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The Titans have not surrendered a 40 yard pass play all season, but Callahan said the Colts will challenge that: “That’s a really well-coached offense. I’ve always been a fan of Shane (Steichen). Jim Bob Cooter, as well, as offensive coordinator. Those guys know what they’re doing. They know how to get guys open. They got the right players too, and to see the explosiveness they’ve had really over the last two seasons, you have to be on top of it because they’re going to test you. They’re going to test whether or not you’re going to be able to keep a roof on them. And even if you can, they’re going to find a way down the field. That’s one of the things they’ve done well, and it’ll be a challenge for us. This is probably the most explosive offense that we’ve seen to date throughout this season so far in terms of what they’ve done production wise.”
Star running back Jonathan Taylor will not play for the Colts Sunday, leaving the backfield to Trey Sermon, who is averaging only 3.3 yards per carry this season. Richardson is also a big part of the Indy rushing attack and he is averaging 6.7 yards every time he runs the football, so the pressure will be on linebackers Kenneth Murray and Ernest Jones to keep tabs on the young quarterback from Florida.
Sunday’s game kicks off at noon at Nissan Stadium.