Colts at Titans
Marcus Mariota, who has thrown for three touchdowns in back-to-back games, carries his hot hand into Sunday's divisional contest as the Tennessee Titans host the Indianapolis Colts. The Titans enter the game on a rare two-game winning streak and, if they win, would be over the .500 mark for the first time since Week 5 of the 2013 season.
Indianapolis has never lost to Tennessee in the Andrew Luck era but will need to protect its star signal-caller -- sacked a league-high 23 times -- much better if it hopes to make a push for a playoff berth. Feeling the heat from his team's 2-4 start, Colts coach Chuck Pagano got a vote of confidence from owner Jim Irsay after his team blew a 14-point lead in the final three minutes of last week's overtime loss to the Houston Texans. The Titans haven't been to the playoffs since 2008, but with Mariota on a roll they should move the ball against the Colts, who rank 30th in the league in total defense and have allowed 29 points a game. DeMarco Murray is also off to a strong start, ranking fourth in the NFL with 526 yards rushing.
TV: 1 p.m. CBS. LINE: Titans -2.5. O/U: 48.
ABOUT THE COLTS (2-4): The Colts have not only won nine straight in the series but they've scored at least 27 points in six of the games. Things may not be as easy this week, however, as the Titans run a ball-control offense and Indianapolis will be without wide receiver Donte Moncrief (shoulder) and tight end Dwayne Allen (ankle). Running back Frank Gore rushed for 106 yards in last week's game, marking the first time in 55 contests that the Colts had a 100-yard rusher.
ABOUT THE TITANS (3-3): Mariota still has a tendency to turn the ball over as he has thrown six picks and lost two fumbles for the Titans, who haven't won three straight games since the 2011 season. Tennessee has six sacks in each of the last two games and will certainly attempt to pressure Luck, led by Brian Orakpo, who has at least one sack in five straight games. Titans coach Mike Mularkey gave the credit to veteran defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau for their recent success in attacking the quarterback. "There's a lot of moving parts. There's a lot of pre-snap disguising. That's the beauty of coach LeBeau," he said.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Colts K Adam Vinatieri has made 41 straight field goals, one shy of the all-time NFL record held by another Colt, Mike Vanderjagt.
2. Titans WR Kendall Wright has emerged as a strong vertical threat and caught eight passes for 133 yards and a touchdown last week.
3. Luck has thrown for 1,721 passing yards (262.3 per game) with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.