NASHVILLE -- As Darius Leonard sauntered past the Tennessee Titans offense after a huge fourth-quarter, fourth-down stop that all but ended Thursday night’s lopsided game, he brazenly raised his hands in the air and threw up a pair of “Ls.”
L, in this case, is for the lopsided 34-17 loss the Indianapolis handed them, and the superstar linebacker wanted to make damn sure the Titans knew who was responsible for sending them home with it.
Leonard oozes swagger and relishes talking smack. Don't like it? Teams know how to shut him up. But the Titans didn't have it in them.
Still, there's no question emotions were running particularly high Thursday night. Even without fans, there was an unmistakable, palpable energy buzzing throughout Nissan Stadium that hasn’t been replicated in a Colts game this season.
This game meant more.
“This one was huge,” Philip Rivers conceded afterwards. “This one was a huge game. We knew it. It was going to be huge either way. Coming off last week's game not finding a way to beat the Ravens it was even bigger.”
The Colts talk an awful lot about going 1-0. It’s coach Frank Reich’s credo, meant to inspire focus on the game at hand. It’s a worthy cause, but one that went by the wayside Thursday.
More Colts coverage:
More than 1-0
Watching Leonard splash confidence all over the field; watching Reich never lose conviction, going for it on fourth down five different times; watching a downright giddy Rivers blubber over the Colts win in his postgame news conference, it became strikingly apparent: Thursday night was about so much more than going 1-0. It was about sending messages.
The first, one, the most important one, they delivered to the Titans loud and clear: The AFC South goes through Indianapolis. It’s been a long time since a Colts team could say that this deep into the season -- six years at least -- but it’s truer today that it’s been since 2014.
That message goes beyond the facts, which is that they’re sitting at 6-3, atop the standings with the tie-breaking win over the Titans, who will face just as tough a schedule down the stretch as the Colts.
On Thursday, the Colts proved they are the class of the division. They didn’t just beat the Titans, they manhandled them.
On offense, Rivers seemed to barely crack a sweat racking up 308 yards and missing on just 10 of his 39 passes, while running back NyHeim Hines breathed oxygen into (12 carries, 70 yards and a touchdown) a lifeless rushing attack. And look out for rookie receiver Michael Pittman (seven catches, 101 yards), who, when he wasn't outrunning Titans down in the open field, was simply bowling them over.
DeForest Buckner: 'We deserve more primetime games'
On defense, the Colts squeezed the life out of one of the NFL’s most dangerous offenses (384.6 yards and 29.0 points per game entering Thursday). It wasn’t just that they held them to 294 yards and 17 points (all in the first half), it’s that they battered Ryan Tannehill in the process. The Titans quarterback started the game on fire (5-of-5 for 52 yards and a TD) before Deforest Buckner, Justin Houston and Denico Autry started slamming him to the ground. After that opening sequence, he went 10-of-22 for 95 yards the rest of the way. He didn't even finish the game.
And sure, Derrick Henry rushed for 103 yards, but every time he threw out one of his wicked signature stiff arms, a Colts defender snatched it out of the air and wrestled him to the grass. They were not going to be bullied. They made that clear in the first half. And in the second half, they decided they were going to be the bullies. Not only were they going to kick the Titans all around their own field, but they were going to let them know about it, too.
“We wanted to come out and put everything on tape that we are a good team,” Leonard said. “I threw up an ‘L’ – a lot of trash talking. You know me, I’m a competitor. I have to talk trash and we definitely have to back it up.”
They did. For the whole football-watching world to see. Which brings us to the other message the Colts sent Thursday night, this one to the NFL: It’s time to put the Colts back in primetime.
Ahead of the season, league schedule-makers only saw fit to give the Colts one game in the national spotlight. It's become clear now the Colts saw that as a blatant sign of disrespect.
Jogging of the field after the game, Buckner stopped, stared directly into the camera and delivered a statement of his own: "I don't know about you, but I think we deserve more primetime games."
After seizing control of the AFC South by obliterating their next closest foe on national stage, who in their right might would disagree?
Follow IndyStar Colts Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter: @jimayello.
The Link LonkNovember 13, 2020 at 02:56PM
https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2020/11/13/colts-vs-titans-forget-1-0-colts-thrashing-titans-means-more/6269898002/
Insider: Forget 1-0, Colts swagger-filled thrashing of the Titans means more - IndyStar
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