The Sports Xchange

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In a game of wild momentum swings, the Indianapolis Colts had one more in them than did the Tennessee Titans in a wild 35-33 win over the home team at Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Titans, up by 13 points midway through the fourth quarter, seemed to be in control after pinning the Colts at their 2 with 12:20 to play. But quarterback Andrew Luck, who had thrown two interceptions earlier, marched the Colts downfield and hit wide receiver Phillip Dorsett with a 35-yard scoring toss, and then after Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota threw an interception, Luck hit wide receiver Donte Moncrief with an 11-yard toss with 5:53 left.

The Titans scored a touchdown on Jalston Fowler’s 1-yard run with 47 seconds left to get within two. A pass interference call on the Titans’ first two-point conversion attempt gave Tennessee a second try from the 1-yard line. But Fowler was stopped short on that play.

“Defense played well. Unfortunately, I put them in a bad spot in the fourth quarter,” Mariota said. “For the most part, they are a good, solid unit. We’ll continue to lean on them throughout the year and they’ll make plays for us.”

The Titans (1-2) had rallied from 11 down to score three touchdowns in a 5:38 span from the end of the first half and the start of the second.

After Tennessee forced a punt on the first possession of the second half, Mariota led the Titans to the Colts’ 8, where running back Antonio Andrews rushed for a score on the next play, putting the Titans up for the first time all day at 17-14.

On the Colts’ next offensive snap, Titans cornerback Perrish Cox intercepted Luck at the Indy 30, returning it to the 3. One play later, Mariota found rookie wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham for the score.

Zach Brown’s interception and return to the Colts 13 led to a 21-yard Ryan Succop field goal that put Tennessee ahead 27-14.

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What we learned about the Titans:

1. Three games in, quarterback Marcus Mariota looks like the real deal. Yes, Mariota wound up a loser, and, yes, he threw two critical interceptions. But one of those was 100 percent on Delanie Walker, and, truth be told, the Titans had no chance to be in it without Mariota, who was calm in the pocket and completed passes to 10 different receivers in a 27-for-44, 367-yard, two-touchdown performance. The Titans’ offense lacks big-time play-makers, but due to Mariota’s combination of mobility, accuracy and pocket presence, the Titans will have a chance to pick up several more wins before the season’s done.

2. The Titans don’t have an identity in the running game. Mariota’s performance is all the more impressive given that Tennessee carried just 27 times for 88 yards (3.3 per attempt) and split carries among four running backs. Dexter McCluster, a bright spot with 12 carries for 106 yards coming in, had just five attempts for 7 yards today. Bishop Sankey, last year’s second-round pick, had 10 yards on five tries on Sunday. The Titans are hoping that rookie David Cobb can provide an answer, but he’s likely out eight more weeks with a calf injury. Somebody may need to emerge, or else a permanent answer could be on a college campus right now.

3. It may be a long week for coach Ken Whisenhunt. Any time a team blows a 13-point lead with less than half a quarter to play, fingers will be pointed at the coach. Certainly, it appeared that the Titans, who were moving the ball quite effectively through the air with Mariota, took their foot off the gas late. Leading 27-14 late in the third, the Titans ran on six of eight plays on the next drive, throwing only on second-and-11 and third-and-9. The next drive, Tennessee went to Bishop Sankey for minus-3, putting Mariota in another obvious passing situation, upon which he threw an interception. Then, there was the run call on the unsuccessful 2-point play at the end. Coaches may have valid reasons for conservative play calls, but fans tend to digest them easier when you win. For Whisenhunt, who’s now 3-16 as Titans coach, talk-show callers likely won’t be as kind.

Etc.:

–RB Jalston Fowler, a rookie, got his first career score on a 1-yard TD run with under a minute to play. Fowler went down on the ensuing, unsuccessful 2-point conversion with an apparent ankle injury and was in obvious pain. The severity of the injury is unknown.

–RB Antonio Andrews, a second-year player who caught two passes for 14 yards for the Titans in 2014, had his first career rushing chances, carrying 12 times for 49 yards and a score, also the first of his career. Andrews was on the roster the first two games, but missed them with a hamstring injury. “It felt good. There are many more to come, it was a solid feeling,” Andrews said.

–RG Jamon Meredith, a seven-year veteran, made his first career start as a Titan, subbing for the injured Chance Warmack. Meredith also got brief reps at LT when Taylor Lewan went down with a minor shoulder injury (Lewan later returned).