match field goals against Peyton Manning's touchdown passes never
works. As such, the Indianapolis Colts' perfect start continues.
The Tennessee Titans? Their winless misery isn't close to ending.
Manning's near-perfect start to the
season continued Sunday night as he had 309 yards passing and three
touchdown passes, and the Colts never trailed in beating their AFC
South rivals 31-9 for their NFL-best 14th straight regular-season win.
With his performance, Manning joined
Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only NFL quarterbacks to open a
season by throwing for at least 300 yards in the first five games. He
will have to wait out a bye week to try and match them with a sixth
such game.
Manning also reached another
milestone when he threw a first-quarter TD pass, the 343rd of his
career. He passed Fran Tarkenton and moved into third by himself,
behind only Brett Favre and Dan Marino in that category.
Indianapolis (5-0) has not lost since
its last visit to Nashville and leaves now with a firm grip on the AFC
South that the Colts have controlled all but the two seasons Tennessee
has won the division.
The Titans (0-5) have matched their
0-5 start in 2006. It got so bad that Jeff Fisher put in backup
quarterback Vince Young in the fourth quarter.
The Colts manhandled Tennessee, which
started 10-0 last season, with Bob Sanders watching from the sideline
along with starting cornerbacks Kelvin Hayden and Marlin Jackson.
The Titans turned in their worst
offensive performance this season with 245 yards. Kerry Collins was
intercepted in a ball taken away from receiver Nate Washington. Young
got a standing ovation from what fans were left when he came in. The
change didn't help. Young's first pass was nearly intercepted by a
Colts defender. He was 0-for-3.
The game was a mismatch almost from
the start with Manning, the three-time MVP, and the NFL's top passing
offense against a defense tied for worst in the league against the
pass.
The Titans scratched cornerback
Cortland Finnegan for his tight right hamstring. When Nick Harper was
sidelined in the third quarter holding his right hand, the
Titans were left with only rookies.
Not that it mattered with Manning going to work.
Manning needed only the first of
Tennessee's two turnovers to put Indianapolis ahead to stay and notch a
bit more history for himself. Antoine Bethea knocked the ball loose
from Titans tight end Alge Crumpler, and Keyunta Dawson recovered in
the first.
Five plays later, Manning found Reggie Wayne on a 3-yard TD toss that was the 343rd of his career.
In the second quarter, he completed each of his seven passes for 81 yards. Joseph Addai capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Tennessee got two turnovers in the
first quarter off a muffed punt and Keith Bulluck's interception of
Manning, which he celebrated in a sign of the Titans' desperation by
heaving the ball up into the stands. But the offense managed 6 and 9
yards after each turnover and settled for field goals by Rob Bironas.
The Titans responded with their best
drive of the night. But Jacob Lacey, starting in place of Hayden, broke
up Collins' pass to Justin Gage in the end zone, and Tennessee had to
settle for Bironas' third field goal.
Manning needed just 47 seconds to
give Indianapolis a 21-9 halftime lead. A 93-yard drive was helped by
30 yards of penalties. Kyle Vanden Bosch was flagged for grabbing
Manning's legs after a throw, and Jacob Ford was called for a late hit
on the quarterback.
Manning finished with a 39-yard touchdown toss to Austin Collie, and he found him again in the third for a 6-yard touchdown.