Titans vs. Colts Week 3 matchup preview: Strengths and weaknesses for both teams ahead of their AFC South battle
Breaking down the biggest strength and weakness each of the Titans and Colts have heading into this AFC South matchup
AFC South action is kicking off this week as the 0-2 Tennessee Titans host the shockingly 2-0 Indianapolis Colts. The Colts’ strong start to the year came out of nowhere, and the Titans will look to spoil their celebrations and prevent them from starting the season 3-0.
Cam Ward and the Titans are still looking for their first win of the year, and if it were to come against a divisional rival, it would probably feel extra sweet. A to Z Sports’ Titans beat writer Easton Freeze and Colts beat writer Destin Adams came together to preview this AFC South battle. Both shared the biggest strength and weakness they believe the team they cover has ahead of Sunday’s kickoff. So, without further ado, let’s see what our experts had to say.
Matchup strengths
Titans: Cam Ward finally gets the chance to face a lackluster pass rush
The Titans have allowed a league-high 11 sacks through two weeks. Their composite pass blocking grade is a five. Out of one hundred. That’s also the worst in the league. It’s been a train wreck of a start.
But the context is brutal, and it should give even the greatest doubters of this unit pause. They have faced the Broncos and Rams through two weeks. Those teams have top-5, perhaps even top-3 pass rushes. And Tennessee has also been missing their best offensive tackle for the majority of their first eight quarters of ball. So when you consider all of the facts on the ground, it becomes clear how nightmarish this opening script has been for them.
This unit had mostly high hopes coming into the year. They’ve been extremely disappointing, but have been put in brutal circumstances. So which is it? Are they a product of their environment so far? Are they a product of simply being bad at football? Are they a product of both of those things simultaneously?
I think Week 3 will go a long way to answering that question. Indianapolis’s defensive front is no collection of slouches, but they aren’t Denver or LA. In fact, Indy’s pass rush has been one of the only areas in which they’ve left fans wanting through an otherwise sublime first two games. It’s unclear whether RT JC Latham will return for this matchup, but early signs point to no. Nonetheless, Cam Ward and his offensive line should be able to take advantage of some badly-needed relief up front from Indy.
If they can’t manage at least a moderately stable dropback passing game against this group, especially if Latham returns, concern levels will rise significantly. – Easton Freeze
Colts: Colts’ new look secondary against the Titans’ bottom of the league weapons
The Colts were without their top CB in Week 2 with Charvarius Ward in the league’s concussion protocol. He is now just one step away from exiting protocol, which should be announced on Saturday. So the Colts should have their healthy secondary back on the field vs. the Titans for Week 3.
In Week 1 the Colts secondary completely neutralized Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and the Dolphins high scoring offense. And on paper, they have the chance to show that level of dominance again this week with the Titans’ pass catchers being among the worst in the NFL. Ward will most likely travel with Calvin Ridley, and safety Cam Bynum will be looking to extend his interception streak to three games. – Destin Adams
Matchup weaknesses
Titans: The run defense dam exploding spectacularly
Nobody runs on the Tennessee Titans. This was a very popular catch phrase of Jeffery Simmons and much of the late Mike Vrabel tenure. If nothing else, this unit would always pride themselves on being sound against the run.
But that saying gets tossed around more sarcastically today than it does seriously. The Titans’ run D has been a rollercoaster ride during Brian Callahan’s short tenure so far, and some spectacular blow-up games have helped crush any reasonable expectation of run D being a rock-solid strength anymore.
The Titans retooled their defense this offseason to get back to a strong run defense. They added real heft along the front in EDGEs Dre’Mont Jones, Femi Oladejo, and Jihad Ward. Jeffery Simmons is an elite DT in his own right, and NT T’Vondre Sweat is a fantastic run stopper on paper. They even have some real thumpers all over the back-end who aren’t afraid to put their nose in a run lane, such as CB Jarvis Brownlee Jr, S Amani Hooker, and LB Cedric Gray.
All of that sounds like a recipe for success when you put it that way. So why through two weeks have they allowed 5.0 and 6.0 yards per rush to the Broncos and Rams respectively? Why have they begun each game stout and finished with some embarrassing runs allowed in the fourth quarter? Why is this group falling apart against the run each week?
I don’t have a concrete answer yet. But I sure am interested to see how they bounce back (or fade tremendously) against a potent Colts rushing attack that’s surely a huge emphasis of their preparation. Jonathan Taylor will turn their day into a long one if they play like they did in their first two outings. – Easton Freeze
Colts: Edge rushers must finish sacks, or Cam Ward will make them pay
The Colts’ edge room has been one of their few disappointing position groups to start the year. They have not generated enough pressure and have only produced three sacks as a team. Two of which came from defensive backs, the only edge rusher on the Colts with a sack in the first two games being Samson Ebukam.
The Colts get their top edge rusher back this week in Laiatu Latu, who missed last week’s win over the Broncos due to a hamstring injury. His presence should help the unit tremendously, and this week finishing sacks needs to be one of their biggest goals. QBs like Titans rookie Cam Ward do their best work when they can extend plays out of the pocket with their legs to either run for a solid gain or hit a WR who breaks off his original route.
The Colts struggled with this in Week 2 vs. Bo Nix on multiple occasions. And if they struggle to finish sacks against Ward they could let the top pick of the 2025 NFL Draft to carve them up. On the bright side, the Titans’ offensive line is one of the worst the Colts will play all season, with them allowing 11 sacks through the first two weeks. The negative part of that, though, is if the Colts struggle to generate pressure and sack Ward on Sunday, it will feel like time to seriously worry about this unit going forward. – Destin Adams
Tennessee Titans News
Key injury updates on L’Jarius Sneed and T’Vondre Sweat as the Titans prep for Colts in AFC South division opener
A pair of important Titans starters on defense were on the first injury report of the week, and we got context on where they’re at inside the locker room
Indianapolis Colts News
Colts get good news that could end up being a major factor in their Week 3 matchup vs. AFC South rival the Titans
The Indianapolis Colts have been one of the most surprising teams in the NFL to start the 2025 season. They are 2-0 for the first time since 2009, and their offense has been firing on all cylinders with none other than Daniel Jones under center. They picked up a dominant win in Week 1 over […]
