INDIANAPOLIS –
Frank Gore's one-yard touchdown runThe scene: Tied at zero with 9:25 to play in the first quarter, the Colts took over at their own 37-yard line.The anatomy of the drive: 8 plays for 63 yards, in 3:43Key play: The key play on this drive is rather obvious. Following the first of five holding penalties on the day, the Colts faced a third-and-20 at the Titans 49-yard line. Chunk plays have been a staple of Pep Hamilton's offense in Indianapolis. One came right here with Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton hooking up for a 48-yard gain. Watching the play develop, you would think Hilton had little shot at catching up to Luck's deep ball. Titans cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson had terrific coverage on Hilton, before No. 13 made a late leap to high point the football. I've said it before, but for a guy listed at 5-9, Hilton makes some tremendous catches in the air.The score: The Hilton snag set the Colts up with a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. There was nothing too flashy about Frank Gore's first touchdown in a Colts uniform. A shotgun handoff to Gore was aided by a nice block from Hugh Thornton (who started at right guard on Sunday) to clear enough room for the 11-year vet to plunge into the end zone. You have to think this was some nice redemption for Gore after what happened along the goal line last week against the Jets. The touchdown gave the Colts their first lead of the season.**
Phillip Dorsett's 35-yard touchdown catch from Andrew LuckThe scene:Down 27-14 with 12:20 to play in the fourth quarter, the Colts took over at their own two-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:12 plays for 98 yards, in 5:31Key play:If this season ends up being something special, people will point to this drive as a series more pivotal than just seven points. The Colts started from their own two-yard and the big play on this series was just some consistency from Andrew Luck and the Colts offensive line. An early completion to Dorsett went for eight yards and took the Colts out of the shadow of the their own goal line. From there, the drive flowed pretty smoothly.The score:The smoothness of the drive stalled following a false start penalty and a sack of Luck. Facing a third-and-20 from the Titans 35-yard line, things looked very bleak for the Colts. It was time for Dorsett to make the biggest play of his young career. With Dorsett running down the seam, Luck wasn't afraid to turn to the rookie for a pass in traffic. Just like Hilton on the big 3rd-and-20 earlier in the game, Dorsett deserves plenty of credit for making a contested catch. The rookie used his speed to create the necessary separation, and then did a wonderful job of locating the ball for the score.
Donte Moncrief's 11-yard touchdown catch from Andrew LuckThe scene:Down 27-21 with 5:59 to play in the fourth quarter, the Colts took over at their own 11-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:1 play for 11 yards, in 0:06Key play:As Robert Mathis said after the game, Dwight Lowery was the MVP on Sunday afternoon. The "pick six" from Lowery came earlier in the game, but this true interception of Marcus Mariota was critical to the comeback cause. Lowery, an eight-year veteran, did a wonderful job of baiting the rookie quarterback into throwing to Kendall Wright. Lowery slid over from the left hash mark and made the pick in front of Wright. The 26-yard return by Lowery set the Colts up at the Titans 11-yard line.The score:The first-down play from the Titans 11-yard line was supposed to be a run. However, when Andrew Luck saw the single-high safety look from the Titans, he let Donte Moncrief know the ball was coming. Add Moncrief's name to the tremendous individual efforts the Colts young wide receivers made on Sunday. The 6-2, 220-pound receiver made a very nice adjustment to the ball and hauled in his third touchdown of the season. That size of Moncrief could be a real red-zone weapon for years to come in Indianapolis.
Frank Gore's six-yard touchdown runThe scene:Leading 28-27 with 5:29 to play in the fourth quarter, the Colts took over at their own 31-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:5 plays for 69 yards, in 2:38Key play:This drive had four-minute offense written all over it and was executed very, very well. This drive saw a 25-yard scamper by Frank Gore, but I'm going to two Jack Doyle catches as key plays. You could see Chuck Pagano let his offense know that any chance the unit could get to run the clock, they needed to try and take full advantage of that. Doyle's two catches for 23 yards allowed this drive to move quickly (yardage wise), but the frame of mind to stay in bounds on both plays let the clock keep ticking. Just another heads up play from Doyle, much to the appease of his head coach.The score:** Gore's 14-carry, 86-yard afternoon looked like a back the Colts just haven't had in a long, long time. You know he wanted to have a big afternoon in Week Three, and he did. Gore's six-yard touchdown run here came thanks to a very nice kick out block from Hugh Thornton. The two-touchdown day for Gore marked the first time since 2013 that a Colts running back had two rushing touchdowns in a game.
