NASHVILLE – The Colts' defense came up with three critical late-game stops, which proved enough to earn a 20-17 Week 6 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

Sticky coverage by cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Sam Womack III, plus an interception by safety Julian Blackmon, stymied the Titans' offense after the Colts took a three-point lead halfway through the third quarter.

Those stops were sandwiched between two massive plays by wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., who entered Week 6 nursing a back injury that left him questionable to play.

Pittman's 10-yard touchdown on a jump ball gave the Colts the lead in the fourth quarter, then his tough 16-yard reception just before the two-minute warning gave the Colts a fresh set of downs – and drastically cut Tennessee's chances of coming back on Sunday.

Veteran Joe Flacco started his second consecutive game, as the Colts kept quarterback Anthony Richardson on the sideline with an oblique injury. Richardson was inactive, but the Colts designated him as their emergency third quarterback for Sunday, meaning he could've played only if Flacco and Sam Ehlinger were both injured or disqualified.

The Colts were also without running back Jonathan Taylor, who missed his second consecutive game with an ankle injury.

The Colts and Titans played to a 10-10 tie at halftime, with Flacco opening the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown toss to wide receiver Josh Downs (who finished the day with seven catches for 66 yards). Titans quarterback Will Levis later turned a Flacco interception into a nine-yard touchdown to wide receiver Nick Westbrook-Ikhine, and the teams traded field goals in the second quarter.

Tennessee took the lead to begin the second half when running back Tony Pollard took a third-and-19 handoff 23 yards for a touchdown, finishing a 14-play drive to open the third quarter.

The Colts responded with a lengthy drive of their own, but three running plays on goal-to-go downs from the four-yard line resulted in a net gain of no yards. Matt Gay knocked in a short field goal to cut the Titans' lead to four to open the fourth quarter.

Pollard was stuffed on a third-and-one carry on the ensuing possession, with defensive tackle Grover Stewart and defensive end Laiatu Latu pushing the Titans' line back, allowing safety Nick Cross to make a punt-forcing tackle.

The Colts then took the lead on a drive sparked by wide receiver Alec Pierce drawing a 33-yard pass interference penalty. Facing a third-and-9 from the Titans' 10-yard line, the Titans sent a blitz that pressured Flacco, but he backpedaled and floated a jump ball toward the end zone, with Pittman Jr. snagging it for the go-ahead touchdown.

Pittman did not practice Wednesday or Thursday with a back injury but managed to get on the field Sunday and make one of the biggest plays of the Colts' season to date.

The Colts' defense then forced the three-and-out it needed, with Womack's break-up of a pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and tight coverage by cornerback Jones leading to two key incompletions.

A three-and-out from the Colts' offense followed, but the defense again came up with a big moment.

Pressure by defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo forced Levis into sailing a deep ball, which was intercepted by Blackmon, giving the ball back to the Colts with about four minutes left.

The Colts' offense again went three-and-out, returning possession to the Titans again with 3:49 left while holding a three-point lead. Again, the Colts' defense held, with Jones forcing a third-down incompletion on a throw to Hopkins.

After Flacco's completion to Pittman, the Colts were able to bleed the clock down – the Titans took over possession again with no timeouts and the ball on the three-yard line with 12 seconds left.