1. Inside Jonathan Taylor's 65- and 70-yard touchdown runs.
An ironclad rule of long touchdown runs is that those happen only with every player on the field doing his job – if one guy misses an assignment or can't sustain a block, a 20-yard rush won't turn into a 65-yard rush.
"A lot of it is guys making plays, right," center Ryan Kelly said. "I think it's the receivers cracking (defensive backs), it's the tight ends coming back on a thankless job on a defensive end, it's the guys up front pushing guys by, JT's vision in the hole is second to none. And there's nothing sweeter than being on your own 40-yard line and seeing JT house one to the crib, it's the best.
"... Those plays don't go just based off one guy blocking. It's everybody."
With that in mind, let's look at a few things we noticed after watching the film of Jonathan Taylor's huge touchdown rushes from Sunday. The first one went for 65 yards:
- Titans defensive lineman Keondre Coburn (No. 91) quickly loses his balance as he reached for left guard Quenton Nelson, who climbs to the second level at the snap. Tight end Drew Ogletree thumps Coburn, taking him out of the play.
- Taylor attacks the left side of the formation after taking the handoff, and a lane opens up thanks to Ogletree's block on the right and blocks by left tackle Bernhard Raimann and tight end Mo Alie-Cox on the left.
- As Taylor slips through that hole, wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. scraps with two defensive backs and Nelson wipes out linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. (No. 56). Taylor accelerates through the second level, away from defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (No. 98), as Kelly holds the point of attack on linebacker Otis Reese IV (No. 41).
- That leaves Taylor one-on-one with safety Amani Hooker, and Taylor makes an outlandish jump cut to the outside and continues to accelerate as he crosses midfield.
- The only guy left who can catch Taylor is cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, but wide receiver Adonai Mitchell hustles to cut off Awuzie's path. Mitchell disrupts Awuzie's stride just enough so Taylor doesn't have to try a stiff-arm, allowing Taylor to continue his sprint to the end zone untouched.
Let's go to the second touchdown now.
- At the snap, right tackle Matt Goncalves pulls from right to left and blocks down on Murray, the Titans' linebacker. Raimann seals off defensive end Arden Key, while Nelson climbs to the second level and blocks linebacker James Williams, opening up a lane for Taylor.
- On the back side of the play, Kelly and Glowinski hold the point of attack with defensive tackles T'Vondre Sweat and Simmons.
- On the front side of the play, Mitchell fakes a slot fade and then engages with cornerback Roger McCreary long enough for Taylor to sprint by.
- After going untouched through the hole created by Goncalves and Raimann, Taylor is again one-on-one with a safety – this time veteran Daryl Worley. As Taylor cuts upfield between Worley and McCreary, Key throws his hands in the air, then slaps his helmet in frustration as Taylor accelerates away from Williams and into the end zone.
"Hats off to the O-line, they did their job today," Alie-Cox said. "The receivers, they're underrated in the run game, but they're also key no those force blocks on the DBs and things like that for (JT) to get to the second level. So definitely, once we get going and we keep it going, coach — y'all been around the way Shane calls the game. If something works, he's going to keep calling it, and that's what we did today."
2. Anthony Richardson only completed seven passes, but the last one he hit was a critical play in the Colts' win.
Richardson dropped back seven times in the first quarter and attempted six passes, the last being an interception picked off by Titans safety Amani Hooker, completing three three of those throws with one scramble. Over the final 45 minutes, Richardson dropped back seven times, scrambled twice and completed four of his five attempts (his only incompletion was a drop) for 104 yards with a touchdown as the Colts settled into an extremely run-heavy identity on Sunday.
The last of completions, though, came in a significant moment.
With the Colts hanging on to an eight-point lead after the two-minute warning – and with the Titans holding all three of their timeouts – Richardson stared down a third-and-8 from the Colts' 34-yard line. Out of the shotgun, Richardson took a three-step drop; on his third step, he drove a throw from the far hash to the near numbers toward an open Michael Pittman Jr., who caught the pass at the sticks for a first down.
Richardson this season is 16/29 (55.2 percent) on short throws (1-10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage) outside the numbers to the left, per Pro Football Focus, and he's occasionally missed those throws this season. For example: In Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, Richardson sailed a pass over wide receiver Josh Downs' head on an out-breaking route on third-and-three.
This time, though, Richardson was on the money.
"That was big time," Steichen said. "It was big time. We needed that in that moment to keep the ball there. Threw on rhythm on time. Obviously, threw to Pitt right there to get the first down was huge."
The Colts forced the Titans to burn all three of their timeouts after Pittman's reception, and Tennessee didn't take over possession until there were three seconds left on the clock.
3. Ryan Kelly made an impact in his return.
The Colts on Saturday activated Kelly off injured reserve, and on Sunday he started for the first time since Nov. 3's Sunday night loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Missing a month and a half due to a knee injury was difficult for Kelly both mentally and physically, and he said after Sunday's game he felt like he was "taking the training wheels off a little bit" and was a "little rusty" over his 62 snaps.
But getting back Kelly's been-there, done-that presence – he's the longest-tenured member of the Colts – was important for an offense that had to run the ball so much against a Titans front that entered Week 16 allowing 4.1 yards per carry, seventh-lowest in the NFL (they're now 17th at 4.4 yards per carry allowed after Sunday).
"It's huge to get a veteran guy like that, that's done it at a high level – the communication that he brings, the leadership that he brings up front for us was big for us," Steichen said. "And obviously, it showed today."
For Kelly – a four-time Pro Bowler – getting back on the field for the final three games of the regular season was deeply meaningful. The 31-year-old, after the game, reflected on what it means to him to play with his teammates and for the Colts.
"It's good to be out there with the guys," Kelly said. "We play this game certainly for wins, but what makes it really special is being around the guys in this room. I've been with these guys for a long time now, and just couldn't say enough about this team and how much fun we're having.
"... We're one of the few teams where you look around our offensive line, a lot of us were drafted here. I think there's a lot of offensive lines around the league, guys come from free agency. We've got some free agents, but for the most part, we were all drafted to be Colts. We all came up together, we all grew together, we've been through different stages of our lives and careers. Glow (Mark Glowinski) steps in two (games) ago and plays his ass off for the last couple games. Gonz (Matt Goncalves) goes in there as a rookie, started a bunch of games, Q's (Quenton Nelson) toughness to go back in after getting hurt — I just love playing offensive line for the Colts, man. It's the best."
4. Kenny Moore II delivered for the home crowd with two interceptions.
Of Moore's 25 career interceptions, 14 have been on the road and 11 have been at home – but coming into 2024, he had just seven interceptions at Lucas Oil Stadium against 13 on the road.
"I think I've had a tendency of making those type of plays on the road in my career," Moore said. "I've had a lot of interceptions on the road."
Moore on Sunday picked off Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph twice, the first coming just after the two-minute warning in the second quarter, which set up Josh Downs' 27-yard touchdown just before halftime. The second came on the final play of the game, sealing the Colts' win.
For Moore, making those plays in Indianapolis – a city for which he's deeply appreciative – was meaningful.
"It's home here," Moore said. "I love it here. Everything that Indy has embodied, it's just been love. To have the career that I've had that care that I have walking around town, it's been a lot of great people who've welcomed me with open arms. So to be able to contribute throughout this career has been such a blessing.
"... To be able to have your home crowd see what you give to the game is pretty cool."
Also, quarterbacks who Moore has picked off multiple times in his career:
- Mason Rudolph (3 times, 2019 & 2024)
- Ryan Tannehill (3 times, 2021)
- Matthew Stafford (2 times, 2020 and 2023)
- Josh Allen (2 times, 2021 and 2024)
- DeShaun Watson (2 times, 2019 and 2020)
- Bryce Young (2 times, 2023)
5. Jaylon Carlies led the Colts in tackles in his first game back off injured reserve.
The Colts placed Carlies, a 2024 fifth-round pick, on injured reserve in October after he sustained injuries to his fibula and shoulder against the Miami Dolphins, leading him to miss the Colts' next seven games. Carlies, a converted safety, never missed such an extended period of time due to injury during his college career at Mizzou, but he credited his linebacker teammates with keeping him engaged and prepared for when he did make his return.
Which was Sunday – and Carlies led the Colts with 10 tackles in his first game in two months.
"It meant everything to me – just being back with my team was the most important part," Carlies said. "I've been away for a while, so just getting back out here with the guys was the most important thing."
After the game, Carlies consistently shifted praise to teammates – Zaire Franklin, EJ Speed, Grant Stuard and the entire Colts' linebacker room – when asked about the plays he made against the Titans.
"The whole group has helped me out in any way they can every day," Carlies said. "It's always something new I can learn just coming from a different position, and they help me. ... I'm just blessed to be a part of the room. I look up to everybody in my room — I'm the youngest, I'm the rookie. I look up to everybody because everybody can teach me something different."
