NASHVILLE – Titans fans will not want to remember the 21st day of this September.
That's because the Colts came to town and had way too much fun while handing the Titans a 41-20 loss at Nissan Stadium.
The Titans were forced to play catch up from the start on Sunday, and they couldn't do it.
Now they're faced with having to dig out of a hole after falling to 0-3 on the season.
"This is disappointing, obviously," Coach Brian Callahan said after the game. "We just didn't do anything well enough over the course of the game in any phase to put ourselves in a position to win."
Titans quarterback Cam Ward completed 23-of-38 passes for 219 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was sacked four times in the contest.
"We put ourselves in a hole, starting off 0-3, something that we got to climb ourselves out of," Ward said. "But it's all learning stuff, especially from my standpoint, the offense standpoint as a whole, and then on the defensive side of the ball."
On defense, the Titans couldn't stop the Colts. Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, and quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 228 yards and a score.
The Titans couldn't sustain drives, and they kicked too many field goals.
The Titans also committed eight more penalties, for 68 yards.
Once again, it was not a recipe for success.
It even prompted boos at Nissan Stadium.
"I personally don't like it, but I understand why they're not liking how we're playing," cornerback Darrell Baker Jr. said. "So, I kind of expect that, they're not booing a single person, they're booing all of us as a collective unit. Right now, we haven't done what we needed to do in order for them to give us the cheers."
Added Ward: "If I was them, I'd be mad, too."
Sunday's game got off to an ominous start, as the Colts returned Ward's first interception of the season for a touchdown on the game's opening series. It was cornerback Kenny Moore who stepped in front of a Ward pass intended for Tony Pollard, and he returned it 33 yards to make it 7-0 just 49 seconds into the game.
The Titans got three points back in less than two minutes, however, when kicker Joey Slye made a 57-yard field goal to cap off a short drive.
The Colts then scored 10 straight pointd, first on a 24-yard field goal by kicker Spencer Shrader, and then on a one-yard touchdown run by Taylor to make it 17-3.
Another Slye field goal, this one from 42 yards, made it 17-6 with 10:50 left in the second quarter.
The two teams both missed field goals in the second quarter, including a 64-yard attempt by Slye, which was his first miss of the season.
Slye later missed another long field goal after a forgettable possession late in the first half, and the Colts kicked another field goal to lead 20-6 at the half.
Things got worse, before they got better.
And on this day, things never really got better.
The Colts stretched the lead to 27-6 on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Jones to receiver Michael Pittman early in the third quarter.
The Titans answered with a long scoring drive of their own, and capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run by Pollard to make it 27-13 with 5:09 left in the third quarter.
But a 46-yard touchdown run by Taylor made it 34-13 Colts with 1:27 left in the third quarter.
Not a lot of fans were left in the stands when Ward directed a 16-play, 77-yard drive that he capped off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Elic Ayomanor to make it 34-20 with 8:40 left.
Even fewer were there when a one-yard touchdown run by Taylor made it 41-20 with 5:53 left.
The Titans return to action next Sunday at the Houston Texans.
"I'm not going to sit here and point fingers at anybody, you know," linebacker Cody Barton said. "I want to watch the film first, but just like I've said numerous times now, we're going to win and lose as a team, coaches included. We're all in this together, and so we're going to win and lose as a team."
The Tennessee Titans take on the Indianapolis Colts in Week 3 at Nissan Stadium.
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Donald Page/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Camden Hall/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Camden Hall/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Donald Page/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Camden Hall/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Donald Page/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Camden Hall/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Camden Hall/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Beau Brune/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts compete at Nissan Stadium on September 21, 2025 in Nashville, TN. Photo By Jessie Rogers/Tennessee Titans
