Colts vs. Titans 2013, Week 11: Live coverage, score updates and more

Walker thinks Walden should have been thrown out, and made his opinion clear after the game. He went on the offensive after the Colts’ comeback win, telling the Nashville Tennessean that he thought the head butt was “bush league.”

Walker had a career night, with 10 receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown. At the time of the incident, which drew a personal foul on Walden, the Colts were reeling. The flag was part of a string of three-straight personal fouls on the Colts while the Titans were driving to extend a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.

The Colts have made a living off digging themselves out of early deficits this season. They have been outscored 35-0 in the first quarter over the past three games -- two of which they won -- and have trailed after the opening 15 minutes in six of their 10 contests.

For the Titans, however, the game is just another blown opportunity in a season full of almosts. Had they held on for the win, they would be sitting just a game behind Indy in the AFC South standings and in good shape for a wild card spot even if they couldn’t catch the Colts. Instead, the loss drops them to 4-6 and has their playoff chances looking like a long shot.

The inconsistency infected every unit.

On defense, the early story of the game was the Colts’ inability to check Chris Johnson. The Titans running back had 70 yards rushing in the first quarter alone. Johnson helped Tennessee to an 14-0 lead with 30- and 7-yard touchdown runs. Then he managed just 16 yards over his final nine carries.

There’s a lesson in all this, though. Never count out Andrew Luck. His statistics might not always be eye-popping, but there are few quarterbacks in the league more capable of putting a team on his shoulders when everything else is failing. The Colts didn’t just need their quarterback to lead the team back, they needed a steadying force. The second-year Luck was able to offer precisely that.

Chris Johnson did everything he could, totaling 86 yards and two touchdowns.

Luck has thrown for 108 yards, Johnson has run for 80 yards and both sides are fighting. The conclusion to Thursday Night Football will be one to watch.

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Walden tore off Walker’s helmet in the tackle, which happens as part of the game, but following up the helmet rip with the head butt is a feat rarely seen. To make matters worse, there was no penalty flag or ejection on the play, despite the Titans appealing to referees.

This served as a spark, with both teams pushing and shoving on a routine basis. The Colts gave up 27 yards on back-to-back unnecessary roughness penalties to allow the Titans to kick a field goal, extending their lead to 17-3.

It’s understandable if you missed the first half of Thursday Night Football, we forgive you.

Lets not poke too much fun. Three yards are still three yards. You can’t turn your nose at them, especially when you’ve thrown for 46 in the game.

The second touchdown came with more effort. The Titans drove 61 yards in 10 plays to earn 2nd-and-2 from the 7-yard line. Johnson hit a crease over the left guard this time, and dragged defenders the final two yards to the the goal line.

If Johnson keeps this pace up, he’ll have a career day. In the mean time, the Colts will need to find something resembling an offense or else they’ll be left behind.

After struggling through a difficult stretch of schedule, the Titans appeared set to make a run at the Colts and in the Wild Card race. Tennessee blew an opportunity to make up ground, losing to previously 0-8 Jacksonville on Sunday. If the Titans had won, they would have been one game behind the Colts and Thursday’s game would have been for first place.

The Titans have two games remaining against Indianapolis, a game at Denver and they will host Arizona. The loss to Jacksonville gives Tennessee very little margin of error moving forward. With Locker out, the Titans could turn to Chris Johnson and the rushing attack. Johnson had his best game of the season two weeks ago, rushing for 150 yards on 23 carries, but picked up just 30 yards on 12 carries last week.

Game Date/Time and Location: Thursday, Nov. 14, 8:25 p.m. ET at LP Field, Nashville, Tenn.

TV schedule and distribution map: NFL Network; The506.com

The Colts enter the divisional tilt as two-point favorites, though the line has shifted to as high as three points in some books. The Colts have been a slightly above-average bet this season, going 5-4 against the spread (ATS), but have gone 3-1 ATS on the road and are 5-2 over their last seven games. The Titans have an impressive 5-3-1 record against the line, but are 1-3-1 at home.

The Colts have won eight of the last 10 matchups against the Titans and have gone 6-4 ATS in that span.

According to OddsShark, the Titans opened up as 2-point favorites for their showdown on Thursday, but the line quickly moved in favor of Indianapolis throughout the week. Some had the Colts favored by as much as 3 points. It’s likely that the loss to Jacksonville hurt the Titans significantly, and home-field advantage was deemed to not be that big a factor in the end.

The over/under for the matchup sits between 41 and 42.5 points. That total has gone over in four of Indianapolis’ last five games, and in five of Tennessee’s last six, so it might be a smart play at this point.

The Colts are heavy favorites to get back on track and secure the divisional win. Five out of six experts on SB Nation are picking Indianapolis, with David Fucillo the only one taking Tennessee. Over at ESPN, seven out of nine analysts picked the Colts. They are also heavy favorites at CBS Sports, with seven of eight experts taking the Colts.

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