Daniel Jones threw for three touchdowns Sunday and Jonathan Taylor ran for two as the Indianapolis Colts improved their NFL-best record to 7-1 with a 38-14 rout of the visiting Tennessee Titans.
Jones completed 21 of 29 passes for 272 yards as Indianapolis scored more than 30 points for the sixth time in eight games. Taylor added 153 yards on just 12 carries and a receiving score for the Colts, who averaged over eight yards per play.
Rookie Cam Ward hit 22 of 38 passes for 259 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent Tennessee from dropping to 1-7. The Titans are 0-2 under interim coach Mike McCoy.
Indianapolis led 17-7 at halftime but pulled away by scoring on its first three drives of the second half. Taylor bolted 80 yards on the Colts’ first play of the third quarter, breaking through a crease on the left side and notching his 12th rushing touchdown in eight games.
Jones upped the advantage to 31-7 at the 5:12 mark of the period when he found Josh Downs for a 10-yard strike, then made it a laugher after connecting with Taylor for a 19-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter.
The Colts initiated scoring on the game’s first drive, controlling the ball for more than five minutes and kicking a 43-yard field goal from Michael Badgley. They increased the lead to 10-0 when Taylor galloped 18 yards for the game’s first touchdown with nine seconds left in the first quarter.
The Titans got on the board with their best drive of the first half, going 69 yards in six plays and scoring on Ward’s 1-yard flip to Gunnar Helm with 11:14 left in the half. But Indianapolis answered back as Michael Pittman Jr. outfought a defender and caught Jones’ 21-yard touchdown pass at the 7:44 mark.
Tyjae Spears capped the scoring when he ran 3 yards for Tennessee with 2:36 remaining in the game.
–Field Level Media
