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Colts facing must win to keep alive division title hopes

Oct 22, 2008 - 6:52 AM Indianapolis (3-3) at Tennessee (6-0), Monday 8:30 p.m. EDT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- To borrow a phrase from Yogi Berra, it's getting late early for the Indianapolis Colts.

Even though this is only Week Eight, the Colts face a virtual must win at Tennessee on Monday if they want to keep alive any realistic hopes of winning a sixth consecutive AFC South title.

A loss would drop the Colts (3-3) four games behind the Titans (6-0) with nine to play, and it would be hard to imagine them making up that kind of deficit.

Indianapolis probably would be reduced to battling for a wild card spot, which, as the New York Giants showed last season, doesn't rule out a Super Bowl run.

Still, the Colts have been plagued by inconsistent play - as their .500 record suggests - and also mental mistakes.

In a 31-3 win over Baltimore two weeks ago, Indianapolis committed 11 penalties for 84 yards. In last week's 34-14 loss in Green Bay, they were penalized 12 times for 110 yards and allowed two interception returns for touchdowns in the second half.

"Looking at our game, and our last three weeks, it's probably very similar," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. It's up and down, some good things, but not consistent enough."

Against the Packers, the Colts allowed 31 straight points after taking a 7-3 lead. They are at .500 this late in a season for the first time since 2002, Dungy's first year with the team.

"When we play bad, we're going to lose,''' Colts center Jeff Saturday said Monday. "If we continue that path, we won't win very many football games."

The Colts also didn't expect the Titans to be 6-0, but Kerry Collins has not lost since replacing Vince Young in Week Two.

However, the combined record of Tennessee's first six opponents is 12-26. Facing the Colts on a Monday night is an opportunity for the Titans to prove themselves, according to safety Chris Hope.

"A lot of people still don't respect us and feel like we haven't played top-notch talent in the league yet," Hope said. "They're still not sure about how good we are, and what better way to show them than on Monday Night Football against Peyton Manning and the Colts, one of the premier teams in the league."

The Titans were nearly flawless last week, rushing for a franchise-record 332 yards in last week's 34-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Rookie Chris Johnson and LenDale White combined for 317 yards, marking the first time the Titans had two running backs rush for 100 yards in the same game since 1977.

The Titans were the last team other than Indianapolis to win the AFC South, accomplishing the feat in 2002, when they reached the AFC championship game.