The Indianapolis Colts (1-1) came away with a 19-17 victory against the Tennessee Titans (1-1) on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
It wasn’t always the prettiest game to watch, but the Colts came away with a tough road victory against one of the top defensive units in the NFL.
Here are the studs and duds from the Week 2 loss:
STUD — DT Denico Autry
The veteran defensive tackle was all over the place on Sunday. Working from the three-technique on the interior, Autry was responsible for 2.0 sacks and several pressures against the Titans offensive line.
The Colts defensive line struggled to stop Titans running back Derrick Henry, but Autry was a force on the interior applying pressure constantly on Marcus Mariota.
DUD — K Adam Vinatieri
There is officially a problem with the Colts’ kicker. Just one week after a horrible showing against the Los Angeles Chargers, Vinatieri missed another pair of extra-point attempts in the Week 2 game against the Titans. It kept the score closer than it should have with the game coming down to the wire.
It isn’t clear if the Colts have any plans to check the free-agent market, but Vinatieri’s struggles have become something more than simply a rut. They are now something to be monitored every week.
STUD — RB Jordan Wilkins
The Colts ran for 168 yards as a team on Sunday, and while Marlon Mack struggled to get much going on the day, Wilkins was there making some big plays on the limited work he got. His big play came on a 55-yard run in the fourth quarter that set up the go-ahead touchdown to T.Y. Hilton on the very next play.
Wilkins appeared to see more work during the second half than Nyheim Hines did so his stock will be something to watch as the weeks go on to see if he gets more work.
DUD — RB Marlon Mack
As Wilkins was a star out of the backfield on his limited work, Mack put up a dud of a game. It wasn’t entirely his fault, and he had some nice runs throughout the day. However, there wasn’t much consistency. He took 20 carries for 51 yards (3.92 YPC). Mack went up against a tough front seven so this isn’t an indictment of his talent or anything. But it is fair to say when he doesn’t have his best game. Sunday was one of those days.
STUD — LB Darius Leonard
The Colts defense was the definition of bend-don’t-break on Sunday. They were extremely stingy on third downs (1/9), and Leonard was in the middle of the game yet again. He led the team with 10 tackles (six solo) while recording a huge sack on Marcus Mariota, which came on a spy. His tackling also looked to be more like his mid-seaosn form rather than the struggles he endured in Week 1.
