Titans use special teams plays and defense to rally past Colts 26-20 for 1st win of the season

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Tennessee Titans went from winless to party time in a jiffy Sunday.

And why not?

The defense shut down mistake-prone Indianapolis in the second half, the special teams made two game-changing plays in the fourth quarter and Joey Slye made two field goals in the final 2 1/2 minutes to rally the Colts from a 13-0 halftime deficit for their first win of the season, 26-20.

“Now this feels good!” running back Tony Pollard shouted as he left the field as the remaining Indianapolis fans serenaded the home team with a loud chorus of boos.

The victory snapped a six-game losing streak in the series, gave first-year coach Robert Saleh his first win with the franchise and allowed the Titans (1-5) to get out of the winless column in the standings.

The defense forced three turnovers and had six sacks, Chimere Dike's 58-yard punt return early in the fourth quarter set up the tying score and Oluwafemi Oladejo's 14-yard return of a blocked punt gave the Titans their first lead with 10:17 to play. Slye's 49-yard field goal with 2:03 left gave Tennessee the lead for good and he sealed it with a 44-yarder with 43 seconds to go after the Colts turned it over on downs.

To Saleh, the win was more of a relief than a celebration.

“When you watch NFL games and NFL tape, you see the spectacular,” Saleh said. “Was this perfect? No. But today we made some freaking plays. This league is hard.”

Cam Ward was 11 of 22 for 102 yards, with one TD and one interception as Tennessee finished with a season-high scoring total. Pollard rushed 19 times for 76 yards and rookie Carnell Tate had six catches for 70 yards and his first TD reception.

For Indy (2-4), it was another frustrating day.

The Colts dominated the first half with a 232-64 edge in total yards, but only produced three scoring drives, settling twice for field goals, and it proved costly. Daniel Jones was 22 of 42 for 269 yards with one TD and two more interceptions — both costing the Colts scoring chances. Jonathan Taylor ran 21 times for 94 yards and one TD while catching two passes for 57 yards.

“We've got a lot to fix, and we've got to fix it in a hurry,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said. “Turnovers continue to be an issue, we've got to handle that better. We can't give up blocked punts, we can't give up a kick return.”

Tennessee's rally began when Jeffery Simmons forced a Taylor fumble on the first play of the second half. That set up Slye's 29-yard field goal to make it 13-3. He added a 56-yarder with 3:21 left in the third to make it 13-6.

That's when the Titans special teams went to work.

Ward took advantage of the long punt return by connecting with Tate for an 8-yard score to tie it. Then after forcing a punt on Indy's next possession, James Williams Sr. broke free and blocked Rigoberto Sanchez's punt, which Oladejo scooped up and scored on for 20-13 lead.

Indy tied the score on Taylor's 4-yard run, but a 36-yard pass interference penalty on cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt helped the Titans move into position for Slye's go-ahead kick.

Jones got one last chance, but he couldn't connect on either desperation heave in the waning seconds.

Titans: Safety Amani Hooker returned from a concussion and made an acrobatic interception to end Indy's first scoring chance. Safety Tony Adams and cornerback Marcus Harris left in the first half but each finished the game.

Colts: Punter Rigoberto Sanchez injured his foot on the blocked punt, All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner suffered a calf injury and kickoff returner Anthony Gould (concussion protocol) did not return. TE Tyler Warren was inactive after injuring his groin at the start of practice Friday.

Titans: Simmons had two sacks, giving him 46 1/2 during his career with Tennessee. He passed Ted Washington for 10th in franchise history and ranks fourth in the Titans era (1999-present).

Colts: WR Keenan Allen had his best game of the season, catching eight passes for 82 yards while moving past Anquan Boldin (1,076) and Terrell Owens (1,078) on the NFL's career receptions list. He's now ninth with 1,081 catches over his 14-year career. Taylor scored his 83rd career TD, surpassing receivers coach Reggie Wayne for the third-most total TDs in Colts history and topped the 8,000-yard mark.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Adam Vinatieri was honored at halftime Sunday when the team inducted him as the 21st member of its Ring of Honor. Vinatieri won four Super Bowl rings — three with New England and one with Indy — and finished his career as the league’s career leader in scoring with 2,673 points.

Titans: Head home to face Cleveland next Sunday.

Colts: Begin a two-game road trip next Sunday at Minnesota.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Indianapolis Colts former place-kicker Adam Vinatieri's name is displayed on the team's Ring of Honor during halftime of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts safety Cam Bynum (0) returns an interception past Tennessee Titans wide receiver Carnell Tate (14) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Tennessee Titans linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (53) and safety Tony Adams (29) celebrate a fourth down defensive stop during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) throws a pass as he is pressured by Tennessee Titans defensive end John Franklin-Myers (91) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Cam Ward, left, celebrates the team's wins with defensive tackle Solomon Thomas (90) after an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints fell behind by 10 points, went up 24 and still needed to make a stop on fourth down in the end zone to hold on. They'll take it.

“Wild game,” coach Kellen Moore said.

Shough threw touchdown passes to Bryce Lance, Alvin Kamara and Chris Olave and ran for a score, Isaiah Stalbird forced a fumble on a kick return and Saints scored 34 consecutive points on the way to defeating the New York Giants 34-27 on Sunday and ending their three game-losing streak.

“We will enjoy the win, we earned it, but when we are on a team’s neck, we have to step on it and finish, dominate and be resilient,” said cornerback Martin Emerson, who had two interceptions. “We can learn from this game. We made some big plays, but there are some where we can get coached up.”

The Saints (2-4) trailed 10-0 with 90 seconds left in the first half. After Daniel Carlson got them on the board with a 58-yard field goal, Stalbird's big hit that dislodged the ball and Oscar Delp's recovery of Charlie Jones' fumble on the ensuing kickoff changed the momentum.

“It was big,” Giants coach John Harbaugh said. “The whole sequence there was big. We let them back in the game.”

Lance's first NFL TD catch six games into his rookie season and Carlson's extra point tied it with 1 second remaining before halftime. Kamara evading a tackle by Jason Pinnock — who started in place of injured safety Tyler Nubin — and getting into the end zone put New Orleans ahead less than three minutes into the third quarter.

Fans streamed to the exits after Jameis Winston threw his second interception of the afternoon early in the fourth, and the stands were half-empty by the time J.J. McCarthy led multiple scoring drives and fell just short of an improbable comeback. McCarthy's throw to the end zone on fourth-and-1 in the final seconds fell incomplete, sending the Saints to France on a winning note.

Shough, who has been playing through broken bones in his left, nonthrowing hand, was 16 of 30 for 144 yards and rushed for 32, just slightly less than the 34 yards New York's running backs combined for.

“It’s obviously something I have to manage throughout the weeks,” Shough said. “It hasn’t really affected me. It’s getting better every single day. It doesn’t affect my throwing, just on a couple of handoffs.”

With Cam Skattebo apparently benched after losing a fumble in overtime last week at Washington that contributed to the game ending in a tie — he did not get a single carry — the Giants (3-2-1) struggled to get much going offensively until it was too late. Harbaugh said it was not by design that Skattebo would have zero carries.

“I didn’t expect to have zero, but I was expecting to not play as much, just like I did,” said Skattebo, who was on the field for six snaps. “It is what it is. I got punished for what I did, and I understand.”

Winston was 14 of 26 for 152 yards, while McCarthy threw for 243 yards in just over 11 minutes.

“I myself, personally, just left a lot of plays out there that I could have executed better on,” Winston said. “(McCarthy) was able to rally us up, and he did a great job. I was proud of him. Proud of what he did.”

Winston's picks, Jones' fumble, several missed tackles, ill-timed penalties and the attrition of missing key players in the secondary contributed to New York's first loss since Week 2 at the Los Angeles Rams. Harbaugh said it was too early to make a call on who his starting quarterback will be moving forward.

Saints: Right guard Cesar Ruiz left late in the first half with a knee injury. … Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry departed because of Moore said was a migraine.

Giants: Cornerback Greg Newsome was concussed in the third quarter. ... Wide receiver Darnell Mooney left with a neck injury. ... Left tackle Andrew Thomas was evaluated for a concussion.

Saints: Play the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday in Paris.

Giants: Visit the Houston Texans next Sunday before their bye week.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18) throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) hands the ball off to Saints running back CJ Donaldson (43) during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

New York Giants running back Tyrone Tracy Jr. (29) scores a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New Orleans Saints wide receiver Bryce Lance (18) celebrates a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)