INDIANAPOLIS (6-5) at TENNESSEE (4-7)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS.
OPENING LINE: Colts by 1 1/2, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Indianapolis 7-4-0; Tennessee 5-6.
SERIES RECORD: Colts lead 36-22.
LAST MEETING: Colts won 23-16 on Oct. 8.
LAST WEEK: Colts beat Buccaneers 27-20; Titans beat Panthers 17-10.
COLTS OFFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (11), PASS (18), SCORING (8T)
COLTS DEFENSE: OVERALL (24), RUSH (26), PASS (17), SCORING (27)
TITANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (28T), RUSH (21T), PASS (26), SCORING (26T)
TITANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (17), RUSH (19), PASS (15), SCORING (10T)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Colts plus-2; Titans minus-4.
COLTS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Zack Moss. With Jonathan Taylor having thumb surgery, Moss reclaims the starting job he held for five of the first six games this season. Moss still ranks 10th in the NFL with 672 yards rushing. He had the best game of his career — 23 carries, 165 yards rushing, two TDs and two receptions for 30 yards — in the previous matchup against Tennessee.
TITANS PLAYER TO WATCH: RB Derrick Henry. The two-time NFL rushing leader has had at least 18 carries in each of Tennessee’s four victories — all at home. He became the eighth player in NFL history with at least 9,000 yards and 80 rushing TDs before turning 30 last week. That group includes Adrian Peterson and six members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
KEY INJURIES: In addition to Taylor, the Colts are still hoping C Ryan Kelly (concussion protocol), CB JuJu Brents (quad) and TE Drew Ogletree (foot) return this week. Run-stuffing DT Grover Stewart must sit out once more to complete his six-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancers. ... Titans rookie QB Will Levis has an ankle limiting him at practice. But WR Treylon Burks, who has missed three straight games since being knocked unconscious Nov. 2 in a loss at Pittsburgh, has returned to practice and trying to work his way through the concussion protocol. RG Daniel Brunskill is dealing with a knee injury.
SERIES NOTES: The Colts dominated this series for so long from Peyton Manning’s tenure through Andrew Luck and to a series of replacement quarterbacks. Then the Titans won five straight under coach Mike Vrabel, including sweeping the season series in 2021 and 2022. The Colts snapped their skid with Moss’ big game in October and are looking for their first series sweep since 2018. The Titans are 10-16 at home against the Colts with Vrabel 6-5 overall in this series.
STATS & STUFF: Indy has rebounded from a three-game losing streak by winning three straight, climbing to seventh in the AFC. ... The Titans are 4-0 in Nashville and this is their first back-to-back home games this season. ... Indy is 4-2 in one-score games this season and has 20 or more points in a league-tying best 10 games. ... Taylor made his season debut in the Colts’ win over the Titans and had six carries for 18 yards. He played just one snap with rookie QB Anthony Richardson before Richardson suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury. ... WR Michael Pittman Jr. had a season-high 10 catches last week and needs 216 yards for the second 1,000-yard season of his four-year career. ... QB Gardner Minshew has won three straight games as a starter for the first time in five NFL seasons. ... Indy’s defense had six sacks against Tampa Bay and has allowed 49 points over the past three games. ... The Colts rank 11th in takeaways (18). ... DE Dayo Odeyingbo has 4 1/2 sacks and one fumble recovery in Indy’s past three games. He leads the team with 6 1/2 sacks, and Kwity Paye has 5 1/2 sacks. Paye and Odeyingbo were Indy’s first two draft picks in 2021. ... LB Zaire Franklin is third in the NFL in tackles (124) despite missing one game. ... The Titans have used eight different offensive line combinations this season. ... Titans rookie QB Will Levis will be making his sixth start. He is 2-0 with four TDs, no interceptions and a 110.5 passer rating in his first two starts at home. ... Henry became the fifth player in the Super Bowl era with at least five rushing TDs in each of his first eight seasons last week. ... WR DeAndre Hopkins needs two catches to tie Brandon Marshall as the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to reach 900 catches in his 157th game. ... The Titans are 16-4 when DL Jeffery Simmons has at least one sack. ... DE Denico Autry has at least eight sacks for a third straight season. ... K Nick Folk has made an NFL-record 74 straight field goals on kicks of less than 40 yards.
FANTASY TIP: Henry ran for a season-high two TDs last week. That was his 21st game with at least two rushing TDs, most in the NFL since 2016. He is averaging 107.8 yards from scrimmage in home games this season.
