NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Joe Flacco has been around the NFL long enough to know the backup quarterback should always be ready to start.
The 39-year-old quarterback also understands to ignore reports about a teammate possibly going on injured reserve and look for wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. when it matters most.
Flacco backpedaled to buy time, then hit Pittman in the end zone with Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed draped over him for the 10-yard touchdown pass with 7:27 left that lifted the Indianapolis Colts to a 20-17 win Sunday over Tennessee.
“He’s got to be one of the toughest players I’ve played with," Flacco said of Pittman who practiced only Friday with a back injury that had the receiver questionable. “I think part of him was probably trying to prove a point.”
Flacco now is 1-1 in his second straight start for the Colts (3-3) who got a much-needed split of back-to-back road games inside the AFC South with second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson scratched again with an injured right hip.
“You just got to stay on your toes and prepare, and that’s kind of how it was, you know?” Flacco said.
Richardson, the fourth overall pick out of Florida in 2023, has yet to play against Will Levis who was the 33rd selection overall in the same draft by Tennessee. The battered Colts with nine on injured reserve also had 2021 NFL rushing champ Jonathan Taylor out for a second straight game.
The Titans (1-4) now have lost three straight to their division rival. They will have to wait until November to try and win their first home game this season for first-year coach Brian Callahan, who said he still thinks his team is better than its record.
“We also aren’t making enough plays to win tight games, and we’ve got to find a way to do that,” Callahan said of the Titans' third loss by a touchdown or less. "And I got to find a way to help us get there because right now, losing games in one-score games is tough.”
Tony Pollard put Tennessee up 17-10 with a 23-yard TD run on a drive that used up more than half of the third quarter. Flacco answered by driving the Colts to 10 straight points and the lead they never lost.
He set up Matt Gay’s second field goal, a 22-yarder, in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Pittman, who did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, said he knew he was going to play. He credited Flacco with a great throw on the game-winning TD.
"I had to go up there and get it for him,” Pittman said.
The Titans had their chances. They went three-and-out after the Colts went up 20-17, then Julian Blackmon picked off Levis' pass to Calvin Ridley with 4:52 left. Levis now has seven interceptions this season.
Tennessee had one final chance with 12 seconds left from its 3. Levis threw to DeAndre Hopkins, who started a series of laterals pitching to Chig Okonkwo before the ball was downed and time expired.
Flacco opened with a 10-play drive he capped with a 22-yard TD pass to Josh Downs for the 7-0 lead.
That more than made up for the pass Flacco threw directly to Titans safety Amani Hooker for Tennessee’s first interception this season. Hooker returned it 30 yards, and Levis capped a three-play drive with a 9-yard TD pass to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on the receiver’s first target of the season, tying it up at 7.
The Titans took a 10-7 lead on Nick Folk's 44-yard field goal, capping a 15-play drive that used nine minutes off the clock. Gay tied it up at 10 just before halftime.
Colts coach Shane Steichen gave a shout out to his defense, which held Tennessee to 241 yards and was at its best in the fourth quarter. The Titans held the ball for less than five minutes with a pair of three-and-outs, the pick and a punt.
“They stepped up big time there in the fourth quarter for us getting those stops,” Steichen said of a defense missing Pro Bowl tackle DeForest Buckner and two other linemen.
The Titans were flagged 11 times for 113 yards — both season highs. Callahan declined to comment when asked about a couple of plays where the Titans wanted interference flags for their offense, saying officials don't really give explanations.
Colts starting defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo hurt a hamstring in the second quarter on a unit with three lineman currently on injured reserve. He returned in the third. But center Ryan Kelly, who missed the past two games with an injured neck, hurt his calf late in the third quarter and didn't return.
Titans RB Tyjae Spears hurt a hamstring and didn't return.
The Colts host Miami in their lone home game in a five-game stretch.
The Titans start a two-game road swing at Buffalo.
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