NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The season was officially on the brink for the Indianapolis Colts. Not because of anything the Titans did, but rather more because of what the Colts did to themselves with franchise quarterback Andrew Luck leading the way in miscues.
Turnovers. Penalties. No pressure on Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota. But then, as he’s done so many times throughout his NFL career, Luck forgot about his mistakes, strapped on his Superman cape and led the Colts back. He threw two touchdown passes 46 seconds apart to help the Colts erase a 27-14 deficit after they gave up 27 straight points to Tennessee.
The turnaround led to a 35-33 come-from-behind victory and marked the 12th time that Luck has led the Colts on a winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime in his NFL career. It took a goal-line stand by the defense on a two-point conversion attempt by the Titans for the Colts to complete the comeback and hopefully get things back on track.
What it means: The Colts' domination in the AFC South continues. The victory is their 14th straight over division foes. The last time the Colts lost a division game was in Week 15 of the 2012 season, when Houston beat them.
Lowery comes through: Safety Dwight Lowery, whom the Colts signed during the offseason, returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and then put the Colts in position to take the lead for good when he intercepted Mariota and returned the ball to the Titans’ 11-yard line. Frank Gore's 6-yard touchdown run put the Colts up 35-27.
What were they thinking? The Colts were desperate -- down 24-14 -- so they had to do something. They took a gamble and ran a fake punt with Pat McAfee from their own 20-yard line. McAfee took the snap, tucked the ball and ran 18 yards on the right side to pick up the first down. McAfee’s play turned out to be nothing because Luck threw his second interception of the game three plays later.
One reason to panic: The Colts altered their starting offensive line, but that didn’t stop them from having penalty problems. New starting guard Hugh Thornton was called for four penalties -- three holding and a false start. One of his holding penalties negated a 37-yard pass from Luck to Andre Johnson, and Thornton’s false start on an Adam Vinatieri 61-yard field attempt took the Colts out of range right before halftime.
Fantasy watch: Gore didn’t become the first Colts player to rush for 100 yards in a game since the 2012 season, but he did finish with 86 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.
Ouch: The only good thing to happen for the Colts is that they came out of the game without any injuries. Starting cornerback Jalil Brown left momentarily in the first half but returned later in the game.