ASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Indianapolis Colts keep digging themselves into early holes — and proving they know how to come back and win.
Donald Brown ran for two touchdowns, Andrew Luck added another and the Colts rallied yet again, this time beating the Tennessee Titans 30-27 on Thursday night.
The Colts (7-3) trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and have been outscored 35-0 in the first quarters in their past three games — two of them victories.
“At the end of the day winning is what matters,” Luck said. “We were fortunate in this game to survive our mistakes and have a chance to win. ... But we know that’s got to be fixed.”
Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals, including a 50-yarder, and Coby Fleener had a career-high eight catches for 107 yards to help the Colts bounce back quite nicely from a 38-8 home loss to St. Louis.
The Titans (4-6) lost their second straight and fifth in six games, blowing the big lead. Chris Johnson ran for two touchdowns and 70 yards in the first quarter, but had only 16 yards after that.
The Colts won their fourth straight and for the ninth time in 10 games over their divisional rival with Vinatieri’s 30-yard field goal as the first half expired helping settle the Colts down. That was the first of 20 straight points as they dominated in the third quarter holding the ball for more than 11 minutes in taking a 23-17 lead.
They opened the third quarter with an 11-play drive where Brown capped the drive with a 7-yard TD.
Then Devon Wylie fumbled on the kickoff for Tennessee. Daniel Herron recovered for the Colts at the Titans 20, and Luck scrambled for an 11-yard TD two plays later.