Joey Slye connected on a tie-breaking 49-yard field goal with 2:03 left on Sunday as the visiting Tennessee Titans upset the Indianapolis Colts 26-20 for their first win of the season.
It was the third field goal of the game for Slye, who added a 44-yarder with 43 seconds remaining after Tennessee (1-5) got a fourth-down stop. The comeback from a 13-point halftime deficit gave head coach Robert Saleh his first win with the club.
Cam Ward completed 11 of 22 passes for 102 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Titans. Safety Amani Hooker finished with a career-high 13 tackles and an interception while Tennessee notched six sacks, including two apiece by Jeffery Simmons and Jermaine Johnson II.
Daniel Jones hit 22 of 42 passes for 269 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions for Indianapolis (2-4) while Jonathan Taylor ran for 94 yards on 21 carries. That included a game-tying 4-yard touchdown with 5:32 to play.
Tennessee entered the game as one of three winless teams in the NFL and played down to billing during the first half. After picking up three first downs on its opening drive before punting, it didn’t get another one until the third quarter.
By then, Indianapolis appeared to be in control with a 13-0 halftime lead. The Colts got into the end zone on their second possession via Jones’ 1-yard touchdown pass to Mo Alie-Cox at the 11:12 mark of the second quarter.
Later in the half, Spencer Shrader converted field goals of 23 and 47 yards — the second coming after Ward tossed an interception.
But Tennessee found its footing in the third quarter as Indianapolis committed one gaffe after another. Taylor’s fumble teed up Slye’s 29-yard field goal that got the Titans on the board with 13:33 left in the period. Slye bombed a 56-yarder following Jones’ second interception.
The Titans used special-teams magic to grab a fourth-quarter lead. Chimere Dike’s 58-yard punt return to start the period set up Ward’s 8-yard scoring strike to Carnell Tate. After getting a stop, Tennessee took a 20-13 lead when Julius Chestnut blocked Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt and Oluwafemi Oladejo recovered for a 14-yard touchdown return.
–Field Level Media
