Colts chasing 4th straight win and another sweep of Titans in hopes of keeping league's best record

BetMGM NFL Odds: Colts by 14

Against the spread: Titans 2-5; Colts 5-2

Series record: Colts lead 40-22.

Last meeting: Colts beat Titans 41-20 in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 21.

Last week: Titans lost to Patriots 31-13; Colts beat Chargers 38-24.

Titans offense: overall (32), rush (31), pass (31), scoring (32).

Titans defense: overall (24), rush (29), pass (14), scoring (28).

Colts offense: overall (2), rush (7), pass (5), scoring (1).

Colts defense: overall (22), rush (6), pass (29), scoring (T-8).

Turnover differential: Titans minus-3; Colts plus-7.

Titans player to watch

QB Cam Ward. The rookie has shown progress each of the past two weeks after struggling to complete 50% of his throws the previous two games. Still, he's thrown an interception in five straight games — a streak that started against the Colts. And this week he faces the first rematch of his NFL career, which provides a measuring stick for how much he's learned over the first half of the season.

Colts players to watch

DTs DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart. Last week, Buckner had a big game with five tackles and two sacks. Stewart added an interception. If they play that well again, it could be a long day for the league's worst offense and might indicate Indy's defense is ready to take a big jump.

Key matchup

RB Jonathan Taylor vs. Titans run defense. Taylor has been handling opposing defenses, good or bad, all season. This is one of the league's worst. In the first meeting with Tennessee, Taylor ran 17 times for 102 yards, had three catches for another 16 yards produced the first of his franchise-record three games with three TD runs this season. If the Titans don't him slow down Sunday, Round 2 could be a repeat.

Key injuries

Titans: WR Calvin Ridley (hamstring) has missed most of the past two games and still isn't practicing. CB L'Jarius Sneed (quadricep) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. DT Jeffery Simmons is week to week with an injured hamstring. OLB Arden Key (quadricep) has missed two straight games.

Colts: Defensive linemen Samson Ebukam (knee) and Tyquan Lewis (groin) did not practice Wednesday and their status may not be determined until closer to game time. WR Josh Downs is still trying to be cleared through the concussion protocol. Pro Bowl CB Kenny Moore II (strained Achilles tendon) returned last week after missing three games but was held out of Wednesday's workout.

Series notes

Indy has won five straight in the series and is seeking a third straight season sweep. The Colts have 13 sweeps, compared with four for the Titans, since the AFC South was created in 2002. ... Tennessee won the previous five matchups, from November 2020 through October 2022. ... Indy QB Anthony Richardson, the No. 4 overall draft pick in 2023, has two wins against the Titans. It's the only team he's beaten multiple times. ... Tennessee won the first playoff game ever played in Indianapolis 19-16 in January 2000. It's the only postseason meeting between the franchises. ... Hall of Fame QB Peyton Manning played college football at Tennessee before playing his first 13 seasons with the Colts.

Stats and stuff

Tennessee is playing its fourth road game in five weeks with interim coach Mike McCoy calling the shots for the second straight game. ... Ward is coming off his best game with a 73.5% completion rate and a 92.2 passer rating. He threw for 255 yards last week. ... Rookie WR Chimere Dike caught four passes for 70 yards, all in the first quarter last week. It was the most yards receiving by a Titans rookie in a first quarter since Justin McCareins had 70 against Tampa Bay on Oct. 14, 2001. ... Dike also leads the NFL with 1,025 all-purpose yards including a league-high 816 yards on kickoff returns. ... The Titans had a season-high four sacks last week. ... LB Cedric Gray has had four straight games with at least 10 tackles. ... Indy has won three straight for the second time this season, holds a two-game lead in the AFC South and has a league-best six wins entering Week 8. ... Indy's plus-92 point differential and three wins by 20 or more points are both league highs. ... Taylor needs two TDs to pass Hall of Fame WR Raymond Berry (68) for No. 5 on the franchise list and three rushing scores to leapfrog Hall of Fame RB Lenny Moore (63) and tie Hall of Fame RB Edgerrin James (64) for the franchise record. ... Tyler Warren needs three receptions and 83 yards to post the third-highest totals by a rookie TE in franchise history (35 catches, John Mackey, 1963; 521 yards, Dwayne Allen, 2012). ... QB Daniel Jones is tied with New England's Drake Maye for the most games with ratings topping 100 this season (six). They are also the only players to throw for 200 or more yards in all seven games this season. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. has caught a TD pass in four of Indy's past five games. ... Indy's defense is allowing 90.3 yards rushing per game and has three red zone takeaways, tied for the most in the NFL. ... DE Laiatu Latu has two interceptions this season, a league high among defensive linemen. ... The Colts have punted a league-low 12 times this season. Baltimore (17) has the second-fewest punts.

Fantasy tip

Keep playing Taylor. He leads the NFL in rushing scores and overall TDs (11), is third in the NFL in scrimmage yards (892) and has a favorable matchup. Plus, if the Colts are playing with the lead, they'll continue to give him the ball.

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