COLTS REMAIN UNDEFEATED WITH DOMINATION OF TITANS

The Indianapolis Colts continued their torrid start to the 2009 NFL regular season on Sunday night with a dominating 31-9 victory over the winless Tennessee Titans in Nashville.  Indy opened up a 21-9 halftime lead and coasted the rest of the way.  Peyton Manning shredded the Tennessee defense for 309 yards and three touchdowns against one interception.  The Colts improved to 5-0 on the season while the Titans slumped to 0-5.

NFL betting enthusiasts who backed the Colts as -3 road favorites cashed their tickets with ease.  Indy upped their ATS record to 4-1 while the Titans dropped to 1-4 against the money.  The Colts have covered four straight, while the Titans have failed to cover their last four.  The 40 combined points scored went under the posted total of 44.  Tennessee has gone OVER in three of their five games this year, while the Colts have gone UNDER in three of five.

Manning joined Kurt Warner and Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in history to open a season with five straight games.  After the contest, he was more interested in talking about his team’s victory than personal accolades:

"It was a great win. This is a tough place to play. You try to do what you have to do to win. I've never been about that or try to do that in the middle of the season. At the end of the season, I'll admit that. I'll do that for other people. Like if Reggie Wayne needs five catches, I'll do that.”

Titans’ coach Jeff Fisher was quick to praise Manning’s play:

"He's just playing as well now as I think he's ever played in his career."

He had less to say about his own team’s struggles:

"We've made our own mess. We have to find our way out of it."

In particular, Tennessee has struggled against Indianapolis in recent years.  The Colts have won 10 of the last 13 meetings and have not allowed the Titans to score a touchdown in the last eight quarters.  It may have been easier this time due to Tennessee’s struggles in the secondary; it was the fourth time this season that the Titans have allowed an opposing quarterback to pass for 300 or more yards.

The Colts will take this weekend off before returning to action on October 25th on the road against the lowly St. Louis Rams.  They’ll play their next two at home, hosting San Francisco and Houston in successive weeks.  Things don’t get any easier for the Titans this weekend as they face the New England Patriots in Foxboro, Massachusetts.  New England is coming off of an overtime loss to Denver and have been installed as a -9 home favorite with the total set at 43’.  Tennessee will then get a week off before a November 1 game at home against Jacksonville.