Jonathan Taylor's 3 TDs keeps Colts undefeated with 41-20 thumping of winless Titans

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts had a feeling in pregame warmups that their best start since 2009 was theirs for the taking.

They leave 3-0 for the first time since Peyton Manning led them to the AFC championship that season.

Jonathan Taylor ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns and Indianapolis never trailed, beating the hapless Tennessee Titans 41-20 Sunday.

Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. said the Titans looked sluggish during pregame introductions, seeing little energy from the home team.

“We’re like, ’They don’t want to play today,” Pittman said of the Titans. “And I think that’s how we found our edge today is just mentally we thought that we wanted to play more than they did.”

Daniel Jones said the Colts heard the home fans booing the Titans: “When you hear that and sense that, try to take advantage of it.”

Kenny Moore put the Colts ahead to stay on the third offensive play of the game. He picked off rookie Cam Ward and went 32 yards for the pick-6.

“I put us behind the 8-ball,” said Ward, the No. 1 overall pick in April.

Tyquan Lewis had two of the Colts' four sacks in a game they outgained Tennessee 145-34 and led 17-3 after the first quarter in a game Indy controlled throughout. The Colts are the only undefeated team in the AFC South — a division they most recently won in 2014.

“It definitely brings a lot of confidence into the locker room, into the building," Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin said. "And you just got to continue to feed off of that and build off of it.”

Jones now has as many victories this season as he had in his last 16 starts over two seasons with the New York Giants. Jones also has yet to have a pass intercepted as he threw for 228 yards and a touchdown to Pittman.

The Titans (0-3) have lost nine straight going back to last season. They played without four starters, including right tackle JC Latham and right guard Kevin Zeitler. Fans booed and yelled for the Titans to fire coach Brian Callahan during a halftime ceremony with team owner Amy Adams Strunk on the field.

“If I was them, I'd be mad too,” Ward said.

Ward bounced back from his first interception of the season by throwing for 219 yards and a TD.

Tennessee's best success came in finally forcing the Colts to punt for the first time this season with 9:19 left in the second quarter. Rigoberto Sanchez had to punt after the Colts went three-and-out. Spencer Shrader also missed his first field goal of the season wide right after making his first 10.

Shrader's miss followed the Titans allowing Joey Slye to try a 64-yarder after making his first two field goals Sunday and first 10 of the season. Slye's try had the distance but was wide right. Grover Stewart blocked Slye's 62-yarder just before halftime, and Shrader hit from 36 yards for a 20-6 halftime lead.

The Colts went up 27-6 when Jones found Michael Pittman for a 20-yard touchdown to start the third quarter. Taylor made it 34-20 with a 46-yard TD run in the third.

Tennessee finally turned in its longest scoring drives of the season when it was too late to matter.

Ward led the Titans on a 13-play, 73-yard drive before Tony Pollard finished with a 1-yard TD plunge. They topped that with a 16-play drive for 77 yards capped by Ward's 8-yard TD pass to Elic Ayomanor midway through the fourth.

Colts coach Shane Steichen joked about Sanchez finally getting some work in Sunday with his first punt of the season after Indianapolis had been the first team in the Super Bowl era to go through the first two games of a season without a single punt.

“We all were on the headsets like, we punted, shoot!' Because we thought we had the penalty,” Steichen said. "And so we’re like, ‘Oh, we’ve still got it going.’ And then we had to punt there.”

Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce was evaluated for a concussion after his head bounced off the turf trying to haul in a pass from Jones late in the third. He was ruled out early in the fourth quarter. CB Charvarius Ward Sr., who just cleared the concussion protocol Saturday, was hurt in the fourth quarter.

And Moore was ruled out with about 12 minutes left with an injured calf.

The Colts visit the Los Angeles Rams, and the Titans start a three-game swing at Houston.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Tennessee Titans head coach Brian Callahan talks with quarterback Cam Ward (1) during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman (11) dives into the end zone for a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen talks with quarterback Daniel Jones (17) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman (11) celebrates a touchdown against the Tennessee Titans during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) breaks away from Tennessee Titans cornerback L'Jarius Sneed (38) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/John Amis)

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — England's managing director of men's cricket Rob Key says he will investigate the drinking habits of the England team following reports that their mid-Ashes beach resort break may have involved over-indulging of alcohol.

England lost each of the first three tests to allow Australia to retain the Ashes in just 11 days of on-field action.

The England squad visited the resort town of Noosa on the Sunshine Coach north of Brisbane between the second and third tests, a long-planned part of the itinerary designed to help players relax and unwind on the long tour.

Key, who did not join the players in Noosa, said he had no problem with the break, but would not be happy if he found evidence of over-indulging.

“If there’s things where people are saying that our players went out and drank excessively, then of course we’ll be looking into that,” he said Tuesday in Melbourne, where the fourth test begins Friday.

“Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol for an international cricket team is not something that I’d expect to see at any stage and it would be a fault not to look into what happened there. From everything that I’ve heard so far, they actually were pretty well behaved. Very well behaved.”

He added: “We’ve got enough ways of finding out exactly what happened and everything that I’ve heard so far that they sat down, had lunch, had dinner, didn’t go out late, all of that, had the odd drink. I don’t mind that. If it goes past that, then that’s an issue as far as I’m concerned."

Key also said he had previously looked into reports that players had been spotted drinking the night before a match in New Zealand shortly before the Ashes.

A short clip of white-ball captain Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell was shared by a member of the public on social media, said to have been taken while they were out in Wellington before the third one-day international on Nov. 1.

“I didn’t feel like that was worthy of formal warnings, but it was probably worthy of informal ones,” he said.

“I think that was a bit of a wake-up call actually for what they’re going into. I don’t mind players having a glass of wine over dinner. Anything more than that, I think is ridiculous, really.”

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Australian players celebrate the dismissal of England's Jamie Smith during play on the final day of the third Ashes cricket test between England and Australia in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/James Elsby)