Titans use special teams plays and defense to rally past Colts 26-20 for 1st win of the season

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Cite

Marot, M. (2026, October 18). Titans use special teams plays and defense to rally past Colts 26-20 for 1st win of the season. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/titans-use-special-teams-plays-and-defense-to-rally-past-colts-26-20-for-1st-win-of-the-season/article_35eb211f-2910-5713-a16e-9c1107745e3c.html

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Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-18 · by Michael Marot

Quick Summary

The Tennessee Titans secured their first victory of the season by defeating the Indianapolis Colts 26-20, thanks to key special teams plays and a strong defensive performance. In the second half, the Titans used a blocked punt return for a touchdown and a fourth-quarter field goal from Joey Slye to overcome an early 13-point deficit. The game was marked by Tennessee’s defense making six sacks and three takeaways, turning the tide against Indianapolis despite their first-half dominance in total yards.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-18, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Summary unavailable.

Written for “Titans Vs Colts Week 6 Matchup” on 2026-10-18, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Titans Vs Colts Week 6 Matchup
Sports · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 1 of 11 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Tennessee Titans on October 18, 2026.”
New York Post
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 1 of 11 📰 publisher trust 67
“Both articles describe the same NFL game between the Tennessee Titans and the Indianapolis Colts on October 18, 2026, with the Titans winning 26-20.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
63/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-18 · how these are computed

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Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 8088 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Michael Marot
20 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 After forcing a punt on Indy’s next possession, James Williams Sr. broke free and blocked Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt.
🔮 He spent his first 9 1/2 NBA seasons playing in Los Angeles — for either the Lakers or Clippers — and emerged as a defensive stalwart who was willing to mix it up around the rim while setting hard screens.
🔮 “The AFC North still is known to be physical, so we knew coming in they were going to get the ball out to their guys and see if you’d be willing to tackle them, if you want to tackle them.”
🔮 Only New England’s Drake Maye (nine) has more turnovers among QBs this season.
🔮 “Right now, if Leonard wouldn’t be able to go, it would be Jayden Sanders and DJ McKinney at cornerback,” Freeman said.
🔮 The decisive Game 3 will be played Thursday in Las Vegas, just like last season’s WNBA semifinals.
🔮 “Oh, before you ask the question, I’m healthy, I’m 100%, there will be no restrictions,” Haliburton blurted out as he started his media day interview session.
🔮 “This is something we’ve learned from in the past, so our goal will be to come out of it as a better team.”
🔮 Aneyas Williams carried 14 times for 80 yards with one TD as the Fighting Irish (4-0) produced a season-high 177 yards rushing.
🔮 Jackson Kleather made a 42-yard field goal with 58 seconds left to make it a one-score game, but the Wildcats (2-1, 0-1) but couldn’t recover the onside kick. Hoover was 19 of 29 for 201 yards and a touchdown, Charlie Becker had seven catches for 98 yards and Beebe had his second 100-yard game of the season after Turbo Richard left with a lower right leg injury in the first half.
Also by Michael Marot
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 20 articles by Michael Marot →

Topics

Colts INDIANAPOLIS Indy Tennessee Titans

Subjects

Colts ORG · 5× Titans ORG · 4× Indy ORG · 3× Tennessee ORG · 3× Slye PERSON · 2× Taylor PERSON · 2× INDIANAPOLIS GPE · 1× Joey Slye PERSON · 1× The Tennessee Titans ORG · 1× the Indianapolis Colts ORG · 1×

Narrative

Indy tied the score on Taylor’s 4-yard run with 5:32 to go, but a 36-yard pass interference penalty on Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt helped the Titans move into field-goal position for Slye, who added a 44-yard field goal with 43 seconds left after the Colts turned the ball over on downs.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-18
🔮 After forcing a punt on Indy’s next possession, James Williams Sr. broke free and blocked Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt.

Claims (18 extracted, 0 hedged)

The Tennessee Titans used a 58-yard punt return to set up their first touchdown Sunday, returned a blocked punt for another score and got a 49-yard field goal from Joey Slye with 2:03 left to earn their first win of the season, 26-20 over the Indianapolis Colts. asserted
Titans → use → Colts
Tennessee (1-5) ended a six-game losing streak in the series with a relentless defensive effort and two game-changing special teams plays that helped them overcome a 13-0 halftime deficit. asserted
them → end → deficit
Cam Ward was 11 of 22 for 102 yards, with one TD and one interception as Tennessee scored its most points all season. asserted
Tennessee → score → points
Tony Pollard rushed 19 times for 76 yards and rookie Carnell Tate caught had six catches for 70 yards and his first TD reception. asserted
Tate → rush → yards
The defense finished with six sacks and three takeaways. asserted
defense → finish → sacks
Indy (2-4) dominated the first half with a 232-64 edge in total yards, but only produced three scoring drives, settling twice for field goals. asserted
Indy → dominate → goals
The Colts have lost two in a row. asserted
Colts → lose → row
Daniel Jones was 22 of 42 for 269 yards with one TD and two more interceptions — both costing the Colts scoring chances. asserted
both → cost → chances
Jonathan Taylor ran 21 times for 94 yards and one score while catching two passes for 57 yards. asserted
Taylor → run → yards
Keenan Allen had eight catches for 82 yards. asserted
Allen → have → yards
Tennessee’s rally began with Jeffery Simmons forcing Taylor to fumble on the first play of the second half, which set up a 29-yard field goal. asserted
which → begin → goal
Slye added a 56-yarder with 3:21 to go in the third quarter. asserted
Slye → add → quarter
Then the Titans’ special teams changed the game. asserted
teams → change → game
Chimere Dike’s long punt return early in the fourth set up Ward’s 8-yard TD pass to Tate for the tying score with 13 minutes remaining. asserted
return → set → minutes
After forcing a punt on Indy’s next possession, James Williams Sr. broke free and blocked Rigoberto Sanchez’s punt. asserted
. → force → punt
Oluwafemi Oladejo scooped it up for a 14-yard return that gave the Titans a 20-13 lead. asserted
that → scoop → lead
Indy tied the score on Taylor’s 4-yard run with 5:32 to go, but a 36-yard pass interference penalty on Colts cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt helped the Titans move into field-goal position for Slye, who added a 44-yard field goal with 43 seconds left after the Colts turned the ball over on downs. asserted
Colts → tie → downs
Jones got one last chance but couldn’t connect on either desperation heave in the waning seconds. Up next Titans: Will try to win their first home game next Sunday against Cleveland. Colts: Begin a two-game road trip next Sunday at Minnesota. ___ asserted
Colts → get → Minnesota
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