This Indianapolis Colts defense has been playing very well since Week 4. Anyone can argue they have been the reason the Colts have been able to stay in a lot of these close games.
Last week wasn’t their best performance all season but their next opponent, the Tennessee Titans, don’t present the biggest challenge for the defense.
In Week 2, the Colts held the Titans to their lowest total yards of the season, 243. That total was also the lowest for the Indianapolis defense this year. The difference between Week 2 and now, Tennessee has a new quarterback in Ryan Tannehill.
Let’s take a look at three keys for this Colts defense against the new-look Titans offense:
1. Be opportunistic
A hallmark of the Colts defense has been their ability to force turnovers, a lot like the Titans defense. This week, the opposing QB they’re facing is susceptible to having turnovers.
In the five starts Tannehill has made since becoming the starter at QB for the Titans, he has had four interceptions, and five fumbles lost. Tannehill is prone to turning the ball over, and when he does on Sunday, the Colts must pounce on the opportunity to help out the offense create short drives.
2. Don’t let Derrick Henry beat you
A lot like last year when these two teams played in Week 17, running back Derrick Henry was on a tear coming into the game, but the Colts defense was able to hold him to just 93 yards on 16 carries. This time around has to be the same or better than last year.
In the last game between these two teams, Henry had 82 yards on 15 carries, with a long of 18. The Indianapolis defense did a good job of bottling Henry up.
Coming into this game though, Henry has had two strong performances on the ground, 188 and 159 in the last two games. If the Colts want to have success on defense, they must limit Henry as much as they can.
3. Bend but don’t break
If defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus read that key he would break and not even bend first. The calling card of a Tampa 2, 4-3 defense, like the Colts, is to allow yards but be tough inside the 20s. This defense will have to do that Sunday.
Tennessee is not great at putting together long drives, near the bottom of the league in third-down offense. Back in Week 2, albeit with a different QB, the Titans were 1-10 on third down. Indianapolis will have to put another effort like that together.
The Colts will really be tested in the red zone if Tennessee reaches inside the 20. The Titans have the best red zone offense in the NFL as they scored touchdowns on 72 percent, an alarming rate. If Indianapolis can force Tennessee to kick field goals, that will go a long way in their efforts to win on Sunday.
