NASHVILLE – The game balls delivered by Chuck Pagano following Sunday's, 35-33, victory over the Titans went to two veterans.
Besides Dwight Lowery's two-turnover afternoon, Frank Gore also took home a game ball from Pagano.
Here's a notebook look at the Colts, 35-33, road win over the Tennessee Titans (1-2):
Dwight Lowery's "MVP" Day
Robert Mathis accurately described Dwight Lowery's two-turnover, one-touchdown, afternoon.
"Awesome. Clutch. MVP of the game. He got us through it," Mathis said of the Colts veteran safety.
Lowery's first serious impact on win No. 1 came early in the second quarter, where he was in the right spot after a big play from his teammate.
A jarring hit from new cornerback Josh Thomas sent a potential completion to Titans tight end Delanie Walker flying into the air.
Waiting was Lowery, and he caught the ball out of mid air and took off 69 yards the other way, weaving in and out of would-be tacklers for the pick six.
The touchdown gave the Colts an early 14-0 in the second quarter.
It wasn't the last play Lowery made to make sure the Colts would leave Nashville with a victory.
With 6:09 left in the fourth quarter, the Colts needed a defensive stop with Tennessee still nursing a one-point lead.
Lowery read Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota perfectly and stepped right in front of a pass intended for Kendall Wright.
The interception would lead to a Colts touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief on the very next play, giving the visitors a lead they would not relinquish.
"You have to make it happen," Lowery said of his timely turnover. "I don't think you can play football in a hopeful moment. You have to trust what you see and react, at least defensively that's how you have to play.
"I went to go get the ball and the rest is history."
Frank Gore Bounces Back Behind New-Look Offensive Line
The changes were immense when talking about a five-man group.
On Sunday afternoon in Nashville, the Colts had three new starters in different spots among their five-man offensive line.
-Jack Mewhort slid back to left guard, a spot he occupied for nearly all of his 2014 rookie season.
-Taking Mewhort's spot at right tackle was Joe Reitz, who was the Colts starter there during the 2015 playoffs.
-At right guard, Hugh Thornton replaced veteran Todd Herremans.
"We just felt like we needed a change," Chuck Pagano said of the offensive line decisions after the win.
"We needed to get a spark. I felt like we needed to get some guys in there and give them an opportunity."
While the unit had its struggles in protection early on Sunday, they paved the way for a terrific day for Frank Gore.
Against the Titans, Gore averaged 6.1 yards per carry on 14 rushes for 86 yards.
His two touchdowns marked the first time since 2013 that a Colts running back tallied two rushing touchdowns in a game.
"They did a great job," Gore said of the new-look line.
"They are a great group, even the guys who started last week. That's a great thing (to have). You see guys moving around still getting the job done."
"We just have to come together as one and keep growing. As long as we do that, we'll be fine."**
AFC South Bunched Together At 1-2 **
The AFC South is one jumbled mess after three weeks.
All four teams currently sit at 1-2, with bye weeks now entering the schedule.
The Colts will continue the first part of their AFC South slate the next two weeks with a visit from Jacksonville (1-2), followed by a trip to Houston (1-2) a week from Thursday.
With wins the next two weeks, the Colts would set an NFL record with 16 straight divisional wins.
"It means a lot," T.Y. Hilton said after the game of the Colts first (divisional) win of 2015.
"(Sunday's win) counts double because it's a division game. There's an easy way to get into the tournament – win your division games and you're in the tournament. For us, we needed this."
Colts/Titans Snap Counts
- The wide receiver snaps on Sunday afternoon went as followed: Donte Moncrief (57 of 61), T.Y. Hilton (55 of 61), Andre Johnson (41 of 61) and Phillip Dorsett (15 of 61).
- The running back reps were led by Frank Gore (46 of 61). Josh Robinson (8 of 61) and Tyler Varga (7 of 61) spelled Gore.
- Safety Mike Adams played all 82 defensive snaps on Sunday.
- Kendall Langford (61 of 82) and Henry Anderson (59 of 82) continue to see ample playing time along the defensive line.
- Starting for Trent Cole, Jonathan Newsome played 52 of the 82 defensive snaps.
- Robert Mathis saw his playing time uptick from 13 snaps last Monday to 20 snaps on Sunday afternoon. Mathis had a fourth-quarter sack of Marcus Mariota.
- The Colts signed cornerback Josh Thomas on Tuesday. Last Sunday, Thomas was walking his dog with his son in a park down in North Carolina. A week later, Thomas was playing 28 snaps and forcing a massive turnover early in the second quarter.
- New linebacker Sio Moore played seven snaps in his first defensive action with the Colts.
