The Tennessee Titans fell to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, bringing their season record to 3-12.
It was a tough road game despite the Titans drawing first blood. The Colts weren't happy about that first touchdown and went on to score 38 straight points before the Titans finally scored again. Mason Rudolph was sacked once and threw three interceptions, while the defense had no answer for Jonathan Taylor or Anthony Richardson.
The Titans didn't give up, though, and attempted to come back at the end of the game. But, as with other recent games, it was too little, too late. The deficit was too deep for them to overcome, and they walked away with a loss.
Let's take a look at how we graded the Titans' Week 16 loss to the Colts.
[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal] Offense: C
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This grade was difficult to come up with this week. Mason Rudolph threw three interceptions, the ground game saw just 65 yards, and three of the Titans' five penalties were against the offensive line. (One of those was declined and is not present on the stat line) However, this same offense also managed to score 23 points in 18 minutes. There's good and bad from Sunday's outing and it was an overall middle of the road performance.
Defense: C
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Dennard Wilson rotated his defensive players more against the Colts than he did against any other team this season. Early in the game, this could have affected their ability to stop the Colts' offensive attack, and by the end of the game, they had it sorted out. If Wilson had done this all season, the outcome of many games would be very different than it was. The defense has dealt with a lot of injuries this season, which likely impacted Wilson's ability to do what he wanted.
So, while it wasn't a bad time to try something new because there's nothing on the line for the Titans anymore, it definitely impacted the game.
Special Teams: D
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The special teams unit did not perform well on Sunday. Brayden Narveson missed the one kick he was asked to attempt, although he did make his extra-point attempts. Ryan Stonehouse and Tyjae Spears both did their jobs well, but the Titans allowed the Colts to return four kicks for 127 yards, an average of 31.8 yards per return. That includes a kick fielded inside the end zone and returned for 40 yards. Special teams gunners have to do better, and the entire unit has to tackle. The only reason special teams didn't fail this week is because of Stonehouse and Spears.
Coaching: C
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Brian Callahan ranted this week about how his team isn't soft. That was debatable in the first half and through most of the third quarter as the Titans took a beating from the Colts. But then they started to play again, put more points on the board, and started to come back. This backs up Callahan's statements because a soft team would have given up.
But the Titans never should have been in those shoes in the first place. The Colts and Titans are pretty evenly matched as far as player personnel, and the Titans' defense is far better than the Colts' defense. However, adjustments were made, and they were effective adjustments that allowed the team to score.
Overall: C
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This team has so much potential. The talent is there, but their execution hasn't been great all season, and this week was no different. By the time they got it together against the Colts, it was too late to come back. Mason Rudolph's three interceptions were a major factor, but the defense also has to stop the other team from putting up 38 points. Their ability to attempt a comeback was impressive, though, and it shows their desire to win and play well. It's hard to give a poor grade to a team that shows effort, and for once, they showed some effort on Sunday. We'll see if it translates to their next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 17.