NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Andrew Luck looked good enough as the Indianapolis Colts tried to tune up their offense back up for the postseason. The Tennessee Titans can start prepping for the NFL draft.
Luck threw for 160 yards and two touchdowns before sitting out the second half, and the Colts finished off the regular season by beating the Titans 27-10 on Sunday.
The Colts (11-5) bounced back from their worst performance this season by nearly matching what they did offensively in the loss at Dallas by halftime. They wound up outgaining the Titans 378-192 as the AFC South champs swept their division a second straight season for the first time in franchise history.
Indianapolis will host the loser of Cincinnati-Pittsburgh in a wild-card game barring a tie in that game Sunday night.
With their 10th straight loss and Tampa Bay’s loss to New Orleans, the Titans (2-14) finished their worst season since 1994 and likely will pick second overall in the draft. This franchise hasn’t picked No. 1 overall since trading for the right in 1978 to pick Earl Campbell.
Adam Vinatieri missed the chance at becoming only the fifth kicker in NFL history not to miss a field goal in a season. He came in hitting his first 28 field goals and connected from 23 on his first attempt. But Vinatieri was wide left on a 46-yarder in the third quarter, though he hit from 26 on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Colts also came up with four sacks, and Vontae Davis simply took the ball away from Titans rookie running back Bishop Sankey in the fourth quarter. Indianapolis now has won seven straight and 12 of the last 13 in this series.
The Titans finish the season having lost 14 of 15 games. They started so poorly that the best early highlight came off Brett Kern’s career-high 79-yard punt, helped when Josh Cribbs let the ball roll into the end zone.
The Colts were held to a season-worst 229 yards total offense in last week’s 41-7 loss at Dallas. They had to punt on their opening drive, then got going. Luck shook off a sack and a fumble recovered by right guard Hugh Thornton to throw a 7-yard TD pass to a wide-open Coby Fleener in the first quarter.
Luck connected with Reggie Wayne, who avoided a defender and went 80 yards up the right sideline before being tackled at the 1. Wayne hurt his groin on the play and stayed on the field for a couple minutes while fans chanted “Reggie, Reggie.” Wayne never returned, and Luck capped the drive with a 1-yard TD toss to Jack Doyle on the next play.
Matt Hasselbeck, a game-day captain against a team he started 21 games for in 2011-12, added a late TD pass to Fleener.
The Titans struggled even when they scored. With goal to go, the Titans twice had high snaps and followed the first with a delay of game penalty before Whitehurst found Kendall Wright for a 6-yard TD pass. On the second, Whitehurst could only cover up as he was sacked, and the Titans settled for a 31-yard field goal by Ryan Succop.
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AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
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Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker
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