NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Titans keep winning, and not even Peyton Manning could stop the NFL’s only undefeated team.
LenDale White ran for two touchdowns, Chris Hope intercepted Manning twice and the Titans routed the Colts 31-21 on Monday night.
The Titans (7-0) have won an NFL-best 10 consecutive regular-season games, matching the second-best streak in franchise history. More important, Tennessee took control of the AFC South away from the team that has dominated this division in winning the past five titles.
Kerry Collins outplayed Manning, throwing for 193 yards with no interceptions.
“We’re trying to get where they’ve been,” Collins said. “It was a big step for us.”
Jeff Fisher joined Tom Landry and Don Shula as the only NFL coaches to start 7-0 in their 15th season or later. He credited his defense for staying patient against Manning and his team for focusing on the Colts, not its surprising start.
“The season’s still early, and there’s a lot of games left,” Fisher said. “Our focus was on the Colts and trying to prepare . . . to try to find a way to beat them. That was the commitment that we made this week. We’re not looking ahead. We’ll now look ahead to next weekend. As far as the division and all that stuff’s concerned, we’re just trying to win ballgames right now.”
Coach Tony Dungy had called this a must-win for Indianapolis to have any chance at winning the division, but now his Colts (3-4) have lost two straight in their worst start since Manning’s rookie season. The Colts trail Tennessee by four games in the loss column with nine games left and New England visiting Sunday night.
“It’s going to make it doubtful for us to win the division, but … we’ll see what the last nine games bring,” Dungy said.
Manning had the Colts up 14-6 in the third quarter on two touchdown passes to Dallas Clark, but the Titans came up big after tying it at 14 with 3:21 left in the third.
The NFL’s stingiest scoring defense stopped the Colts on fourth-and-short on consecutive drives at the end of the third and start of the fourth.
