Titans Officially Emerge

As one of the last people to come around to the thought of the Tennessee Titans as an elite team, I have to admit that they looked great against the Colts on Monday Night Football. At 14-6 I was certain my +4 bet on the Colts was the wisest choice of the week in The Lock, but instead I suffered my first losing week (2-3) in over a month and the Titans proved how tough they really are. Down 8 points to the traditionally dominant team in the division, the Titans rallied and scored 25 unanswered and closed the door on the AFC South. The season is only half over, but the Titans have a 4-game lead on the rest of the division and holds the tie breaker.

The Giants, Steelers and Redskins all look good, and the Sunday afternoon game between Pittsburgh and New York looked like a potential Super Bowl preview, but the fact remains that the Titans are holding a perfect record and played like the best team in football tonight. Peyton Manning was relatively sharp compared to some early season efforts, but the complete inability to run the football allowed Tennessee to control the game. Their speed in the secondary and strength up front proved a dangerous combination as the defense stepped up to stop the Colts on two critical fourth down situations in the second half.

The next set of the Power Rankings will be coming soon and the Titans will hold the No. 1 ranking. Their rank will not be by default, but rather as a reflection of their dominating defense and strong rushing attack. Kerry Collins showed he is not simply a 'manager of the game' as suggested constantly by the MNF commentators, but systematically led the Titans downfield in the fourth quarter with a pass heavy attack to kill the Colts chances of a comeback.