The Colts Had Tennessee Buried Until Their Own Mistakes Brought It Back

The Tennessee Titans (1-5) overcame a 13-point halftime deficit to stun the Indianapolis Colts (2-4) 26-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium on October 18, 2026, as a blocked-punt touchdown and four Joey Slye field goals helped Tennessee secure its first victory of the season.

Quarter-by-Quarter

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
TEN	0	0	6	20	26
IND	0	13	0	7	20

Tennessee entered Indianapolis winless, riding six straight losses against the Colts and averaging an NFL-worst 11.6 points per game. For two quarters, nothing suggested that would change. Trailing 13-0 at halftime, the Titans finally caught life when Jeffery Simmons forced and recovered a Jonathan Taylor fumble, setting up Joey Slye’s first field goal. Cor’Dale Flott’s interception helped produce another before Cam Ward found rookie Carnell Tate for an eight-yard touchdown to tie the game. Julius Chestnut then blocked Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt, which Oluwafemi Oladejo recovered for a touchdown and Tennessee’s first lead. After Indianapolis tied it, Slye delivered field goals from 49 and 44 yards to finish the comeback. Ward managed just 102 passing yards, Tate caught six passes for 70 yards, and Tony Pollard rushed for 76, but Robert Saleh’s defense and special teams delivered Tennessee’s first victory.

Indianapolis somehow lost despite outgaining Tennessee 399-186, controlling possession for nearly 39 minutes and allowing just one offensive touchdown. Daniel Jones threw for 269 yards and a touchdown to Mo Alie-Cox, but his two interceptions and six sacks proved disastrous. Taylor contributed 94 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Keenan Allen caught eight passes for 82 yards. Missing injured tight end Tyler Warren didn’t help, but Indianapolis had more than enough opportunities. Simmons and Jermaine Johnson II recorded two sacks apiece, Amani Hooker added an interception, and Tennessee capitalized on three turnovers. The Colts’ defense largely handled its responsibility, but a costly fourth-quarter pass interference penalty and repeated offensive mistakes spoiled a dominant statistical performance. Indianapolis fell to 2-4, handing Tennessee its first win over the Colts since 2022.

Postgame Statistical Breakdown

Team Stats

Stat	Tennessee Titans	Indianapolis Colts
Final Score	26	20
Total Offensive Yards	186	399
Passing Yards	102	234
Rushing Yards	84	165
Total Plays	45	78
Yards Per Play	4.1	5.1
First Downs	11	24
Third Downs	3-10	7-15
Third-Down %	30.0%	46.7%
Fourth Downs	0-0	1-3
Passing TDs	1	1
Rushing TDs	0	1
Total Offensive TDs	1	2
Turnovers	1	3
Interceptions Thrown	1	2
Fumbles Lost	0	1
Sacks Allowed	0	6
Penalties	8	5
Penalty Yards	54	61
Time of Possession	21:28	38:32

Passing

Tennessee Titans

1. Cam Ward — 11/22, 50.0%, 102 YDS, 1 TD, 1 INT, 4.6 YPA, 0 SACK, 59.3 RTG

Indianapolis Colts

1. Daniel Jones — 22/42, 52.4%, 269 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT, 6.4 YPA, 6 SACK, 60.5 RTG

Rushing

Tennessee Titans

1. Tony Pollard — 19 CAR, 76 YDS, 4.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 16
2. Cam Ward — 3 CAR, 7 YDS, 2.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 5

Indianapolis Colts

1. Jonathan Taylor — 21 CAR, 94 YDS, 4.5 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 20, 1 FUM
2. Daniel Jones — 3 CAR, 30 YDS, 10.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 17

Receiving

Tennessee Titans

1. Carnell Tate — 6 REC, 7 TGT, 70 YDS, 11.7 AVG, 1 TD, LONG 19
2. Wan’Dale Robinson — 3 REC, 7 TGT, 22 YDS, 7.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 10
3. Tyjae Spears — 1 REC, 1 TGT, 7 YDS, 7.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 7
4. Elic Ayomanor — 1 REC, 2 TGT, 3 YDS, 3.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 3
5. Calvin Ridley — 0 REC, 2 TGT, 0 YDS, 0.0 AVG, 0 TD

Indianapolis Colts

1. Keenan Allen — 8 REC, 11 TGT, 82 YDS, 10.3 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 19
2. Jonathan Taylor — 2 REC, 4 TGT, 57 YDS, 28.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 38
3. Deion Burks — 2 REC, 2 TGT, 41 YDS, 20.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 36
4. Josh Downs — 4 REC, 8 TGT, 40 YDS, 10.0 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 23
5. Laquon Treadwell — 2 REC, 5 TGT, 21 YDS, 10.5 AVG, 0 TD, LONG 14

Scoring Plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score
Q2	11:07	Indianapolis Colts	Mo Alie-Cox 1-yard pass from Daniel Jones (Spencer Shrader kick)	TEN 0, IND 7
Q2	2:06	Indianapolis Colts	Spencer Shrader 23-yard field goal	TEN 0, IND 10
Q2	0:11	Indianapolis Colts	Spencer Shrader 47-yard field goal	TEN 0, IND 13
Q3	13:30	Tennessee Titans	Joey Slye 29-yard field goal	TEN 3, IND 13
Q3	3:21	Tennessee Titans	Joey Slye 56-yard field goal	TEN 6, IND 13
Q4	13:00	Tennessee Titans	Carnell Tate 8-yard pass from Cam Ward (Joey Slye kick)	TEN 13, IND 13
Q4	10:17	Tennessee Titans	Rigoberto Sanchez Punt Blk’d kick Blocked by Julius Chestnut (Joey Slye kick)	TEN 20, IND 13
Q4	5:32	Indianapolis Colts	Jonathan Taylor 4-yard run (Spencer Shrader kick)	TEN 20, IND 20
Q4	2:03	Tennessee Titans	Joey Slye 49-yard field goal	TEN 23, IND 20
Q4	0:43	Tennessee Titans	Joey Slye 44-yard field goal	TEN 26, IND 20

Defense

Tennessee Titans

1. Jeffery Simmons — 6 TOT, 3 SOLO, 2 TFL, 2 SACK, 2 QBH, 1 FR
2. Tony Adams — 12 TOT, 8 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 1 QBH, 1 PD
3. Amani Hooker — 13 TOT, 7 SOLO, 1 INT, 1 PD
4. Jermaine Johnson II — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 2 TFL, 2 SACK, 3 QBH
5. Jacob Martin — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 SACK, 2 QBH, 1 PD
6. Anthony Hill Jr. — 9 TOT, 3 SOLO, 1 TFL, 1 PD
7. Cor’Dale Flott — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 1 INT, 1 PD
8. Oluwafemi Oladejo — 1 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 FR TD
9. Cedric Gray — 7 TOT, 4 SOLO
10. Joshua Williams — 3 TOT, 2 SOLO, 2 PD

Indianapolis Colts

1. Cam Bynum — 2 TOT, 1 INT, 12 INT YDS, 1 PD
2. Akeem Davis-Gaither — 9 TOT, 5 SOLO
3. Jaylahn Tuimoloau — 2 TOT, 2 SOLO, 3 PD
4. A.J. Haulcy — 6 TOT, 2 SOLO
5. Adetomiwa Adebawore — 4 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 QBH
6. Justin Walley — 4 TOT, 2 SOLO
7. Bryce Boettcher — 4 TOT, 1 SOLO
8. DeForest Buckner — 2 TOT, 1 SOLO, 1 PD
9. Austin Ajiake — 3 TOT
10. Grover Stewart — 3 TOT

Kick Returns

Tennessee Titans

1. Chimere Dike — 5 KR, 118 YDS, 23.6 AVG, LONG 28, 0 TD

Indianapolis Colts

1. Deion Burks — 4 KR, 81 YDS, 20.3 AVG, LONG 26, 0 TD

Punt Returns

Tennessee Titans

1. Chimere Dike — 1 PR, 58 YDS, 58.0 AVG, LONG 58, 0 TD

Indianapolis Colts

1. Anthony Gould — 1 PR, 9 YDS, 9.0 AVG, LONG 9, 0 TD