BLUE 1,026 Posted September 26, 2014 By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer (AP) -- After quickly extinguishing their first losing streak in three years, the Indianapolis Colts will attempt to string together back-to-back wins for the first time this season and add to their dominance over the Tennessee Titans. While Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will attempt to build on one of the best performances of his career, it's unknown if an ailing wrist will keep Titans counterpart Jake Locker out of Sunday's visit to Indianapolis. The Colts' 0-2 start marked their first consecutive defeats since Luck was taken with the top pick in the 2012 draft and coach Chuck Pagano joined the team. Luck played a major role in ending that skid this past Sunday by matching a career high with four touchdown passes - three in the first half - and throwing for 370 yards in a 44-17 victory in Jacksonville. He went 31 of 39 for a career-best 79.5 completion percentage and helped Indianapolis (1-2) post its high-scoring game since a 44-20 win over Baltimore on Dec. 9, 2007. The Colts' 529 yards were their most since they had 567 in a 51-24 victory over Tennessee on Dec. 5, 2004. "It makes everything feel better," Luck said. "It's good to have a win, but you realize it's just one and we've got to get our home record back on track now." The running back tandem of Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson also stayed in its grove with 122 total yards. The players have combined for 271 in the past two games, and the Colts have totaled 313 yards on the ground. "Sometimes it's hard to keep them from becoming complacent after a victory," Pagano said. "We've got to do a great job of making sure we don't take our foot off the gas and keep trying to get better." Hours after learning of former kicker Rob Bironas' death, the Titans (1-2) endured a 33-7 defeat in Cincinnati on Sunday. They've been outscored 59-17 in back-to-back losses since a 26-10 win at Kansas City in coach Ken Whisenhunt's debut. They avoided a shutout against the Bengals when Shonn Greene scored on a 1-yard run with 6:09 remaining. Tennessee committed 11 penalties for 99 yards and has been flagged 28 times - tied for third-most in the league - for 239 yards. "What's happening to us is when we have an opportunity to make a play, we're not making it," Whisenhunt said. "We're not making the catch. We're not making the tackle. We're not making the kick." The Titans coach said Locker's wrist was so sore during that loss he could barely grip the ball. He wasn't able to practice this week but said he's getting better each day, and his status will be determined by how he progresses later in the week. Locker, in the final year of his contract, has one of the league's worst passer ratings at 70.8 and one of the lowest completion percentages at 56.4. He went 17 for 34 for 185 yards and had two interceptions last week. He has been picked off four times in the last two games while completing 51.5 percent of his passes. "Jake has to play better," Whisenhunt said after Sunday's loss. "We all have to play better." Locker has missed 14 games in the past two seasons because of injuries and sat out the final seven contests in 2013 after hurting his foot. Titans backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst has made four career starts with his most recent for Seattle in 2011. Tennessee's other quarterback is sixth-round pick Zach Mettenberger. Tight ends Delanie Walker (shoulder) and Taylor Thompson (knee) are also dealing with injuries and their statuses are uncertain. Walker has a team-high 17 catches for 233 yards and two touchdowns. Locker has made one career start against Indianapolis. He had 262 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 27-23 road loss Dec. 9, 2012. Luck has topped 240 yards in one of his four career starts against Tennessee and has four interceptions to two touchdowns in those matchups. The Colts, though, have a five-game win streak in the series. They've taken 10 of the last 11 meetings and 10 of 11 at home, including a series-best six in a row there. Source: Hosted.Stats.com Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 26, 2014 No Locker, No Chance for the Titans. Andrew Luck is finally starting to live up to the hype that's been building around him and he's gonna carry this shitty Colts team like Peyton did years before. 34 24 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 28, 2014 Jake Locker (wrist) is inactive for Week 4 against the Colts, and Charlie Whitehurst will get the start at quarterback. Whitehurst is a bottom-barrel QB2 option in a week there are only 24 quarterbacks playing Sunday and Monday. Fire the Colts defense up as an enticing streaming option. Also inactive for the Titans are OT Byron Stingily, WR Kris Durham, TE Taylor Thompson, DL Ropati Pitoitua, CB Brandon Harris, and LB Akeem Ayers. Colts declared WR Da'Rick Rogers, LB Andy Studebaker, LB Jerrell Freeman, S Colt Anderson, C Khaled Holmes, RG Hugh Thornton, and DL Arthur Jones inactive for Week 4 against the Titans. Rogers continues to bring up the rear of the receiver depth chart. Freeman remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Jones is out with a bad ankle. Holmes was Wally Pipped by A.Q. Shipley for the starting job. Thornton has an ankle issue. Lance Louis will start at right guard in Thornton's place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 28, 2014 that's two weeks in a row and three out of four that Ayers has been a healthy scratch, disappointing to say the least Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 28, 2014 20-10 at half? that's not nearly as bad as I'd braced myself for Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 28, 2014 well this is closer to what I expected Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch 874 Posted September 28, 2014 Colts 41-17. That escalated quickly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
