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Indianapolis Colts score twice in 8-second span to beat Tennessee Titans

By Bucky Dent, The Sports Xchange
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12). Photo by John Sommers II/UPI
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12). Photo by John Sommers II/UPI | License Photo

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Andrew Luck said the feeling of a winning locker room in the moments after a game like Sunday's is almost addicting.

Consider the Indianapolis Colts' fix for victory satisfied.

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Scoring a pair of touchdowns in an eight-second span late in the fourth quarter, Indianapolis pulled out a potential season-saver, beating the Tennessee Titans 34-26 Sunday in Nissan Stadium.

After blowing a two-touchdown lead last week in an overtime loss at Houston, the Colts faced the possibility of falling three games behind the AFC South leading-Texans by Week 7's end. Instead, they improved to 3-4, knocked Tennessee down to 3-4 and could draw within a game of Houston if it loses Monday night in Denver.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find a more joyful spot in the world," Luck said of Indianapolis' locker room. "We still have a lot of things to clean up, but to find a way to finish off that game the way we did is a good feeling."

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Trailing 23-20 after Titans kicker Ryan Succop converted a 48-yard field goal with 6:02 remaining in the game, the Colts drove 70 yards in 12 plays to regain the lead for good. Luck polished off the drive with his third touchdown pass, a 7-yarder to Jack Doyle at the 1:55 mark.

Doyle, who became the team's top tight end with the absence of Dwayne Allen, caught nine passes for 78 yards.

"I'm always looking for Jack Doyle," Luck said. "He's the best. Obviously, with Dwayne down, he's getting more opportunities now."

Tennessee's bid to deny Luck the 17th game-winning touchdown drive of his career lasted one play after the kickoff. T.Y. McGill strip-sacked Marcus Mariota and Robert Mathis scooped up the ball, rumbling 14 yards for the clinching score.

It was the low point in an uneven day for Mariota, who was 22 of 37 for 232 yards and two touchdown passes but also missed a spate of open receivers before the killing fumble.

"That's on me," Mariota said. "We had guys getting open and I wasn't able to make the throws."

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Succop's 44-yard field goal with 43 seconds remaining brought the Titans within a score, but his onside kick bounced out of bounds to end their longshot hopes at a dramatic rally.

It was the 10th straight win by Indianapolis in this lopsided division rivalry, as well as their 15th in its last 16 meetings. Tennessee's only victory in that span was in October 2011 when the Colts were going 2-14 and earning the right to draft Luck.

In upping his personal record against the Titans to 9-0, Luck strafed them for 353 yards on 27-of-39 accuracy despite the absence of three offensive starters. Doyle (9 catches, 78 yards) and T.Y. Hilton (7 catches, 133 yards), who was slowed in practice during the week by a hip injury, did most of the damage as Tennessee couldn't find a defensive scheme to keep either one in check.

"You look at the games, there's nothing magical, nothing crazy," Titans cornerback Jason McCourty said. "We're just not closing them out. We're not scoring enough points."

Tennessee initiated scoring less than six minutes into the game on a trick play, Mariota finding tackle Taylor Lewan for a 10-yard touchdown pass.

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Indianapolis responded with 17 straight points. Luck hit Frank Gore with a 3-yard scoring strike, followed by a 37-yard connection with Hilton with 10:16 left in the half and a 28-yard field goal by Adam Vinatieri at the 7:06 mark of the second quarter.

DeMarco Murray, who rushed 25 times for 107 yards, broke the goal line's plane on a 1-yard plunge with 34 seconds remaining in the half to pull the Titans within 17-13 at halftime.

Vinatieri made history with 3:46 left in the third quarter, converting a 33-yard field goal to set an NFL record with 43 consecutive makes.

Tennessee tied the score with 12:39 remaining in the game on Mariota's 7-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker, then took the lead and could have experienced its first three-game winning streak in five years.

Instead, in a familiar ending, Luck played the role of hero while breathing life into the Colts' season.

"I thought the coaches laid out an inventive, aggressive game plan for us," Luck said. "We managed to make enough plays at the end, and we cut down on some mistakes offensively."

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NOTES: Indianapolis LG Jack Mewhort (triceps) led the team's list of inactives Sunday. Also inactive for the Colts were WRs Donte Moncrief and Phillip Dorsett, TE Dwayne Allen, OLB Curt Maggitt, NT Zach Kerr and DT Henry Anderson. ... Tennessee deactivated CB Cody Riggs, DB Curtis Riley, OLB Aaron Wallace, G Sebastian Tretola, WR Harry Douglas, TE Jace Amaro and DL Austin Johnson. ... Titans NT Al Woods (calf) returned to the starting lineup after a two-game absence.

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