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)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)