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Titans fend off Colts, stay unbeaten

Oct 28, 2008 - 5:15 AM By Chip Cirillo PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- Even against the Indianapolis Colts, the Tennessee Titans defense did not miss a beat without their top pass rusher.

LenDale White scored two touchdowns and Rob Bironas kicked three field goals as the Titans stayed unbeaten with a 31-21 victory over the Colts at LP Field on Monday night.

Kyle Vanden Bosch sat out with a groin injury, but it didn't matter as the Titans (7-0) used ball control and their stingy defense to extend the best start in the organization's history.

"The defense did a great job and they knew they had to be patient," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "We got some key stops. We anticipated that they were going to commit to stopping our run and they did, so we turned it over to Kerry (Collins) and he made a lot of big plays."

Collins completed 24-of-37 passes for 193 yards as the Titans rallied from a 14-6 deficit with 25 consecutive points in the second half.

"These two teams know each other so well that a lot of the first half was trading punches," Collins said. "Obviously, they've been on top for a lot of years and we're trying to get where they've been. It was a big step for us tonight."

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning tossed two interceptions to Chris Hope and was forced to throw short passes as the Titans took away the big play all game long.

"The first one I was breaking on it and (Cortland Finnegan) got a hand in," Hope said. "(Manning) played a great game. This is the first game where we've given up a passing touchdown all year."

Trailing, 14-6, Tennessee tied the game on White's 1-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-goal. Collins passed to Ahmard Hall for the two-point conversion, tying the score at 14-14 with 7:45 left in the third quarter.

Bironas' third field goal, a 48-yarder, gave the Titans a 17-14 lead with 14:45 remaining in the game. The Titans started the drive on the Colts' 47-yard line after Indianapolis turned the ball over on downs.

The Titans increased their lead to 24-14 on White's 1-yard TD run with 4:37 left, capping a 13-play, 66-yard drive. Rookie Chris Johnson made it 31-14 on a 16-yard run, one play after Chris Hope's second interception of the game.

Manning finished 26-of-41 for 223 yards with three touchdowns, including one rushing score. The Colts top two wide receivers, Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison, were limited to just four catches for 41 yards combined.

"We definitely need to get our stuff together," said Colts running back Dominic Rhodes, who rushed for 70 yards and had a team-high eight catches for 39 yards. "It is a critical week for us. We need to get this record back to even."

Tennessee took advantage of a good kickoff return and scored on the game's first possession, taking a 3-0 lead on Bironas' 34-yard field goal with 9:43 left in the first quarter.

Indianapolis capitalized on some good field position of its own to take a 7-3 lead on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark with 3:27 left in the first quarter. Craig Hentrich's 33-yard punt and a short return gave Indianapolis the ball at the Tennessee 37 to start the drive.

After another Bironas field goal in the second quarter, Clark and Manning hooked up on another touchdown pass, this one from 19 yards, to give the Colts a 14-6 lead with 11:06 left in the third quarter.