INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts avoided their first 0-16 season thanks to a quarterback who was trying to prevent his second.

Dan Orlovsky, who closed out the NFL’s only 0-16 season with Detroit in 2008, threw one touchdown pass and the key block to spring an 80-yard touchdown run Sunday and lead the previously winless Colts to a 27-13 win over playoff hopeful Tennessee.

It was the franchise’s first win in 14 years without Peyton Manning, and all it took was 14 tries and three quarterbacks.

Players and coaches celebrated by throwing their arms in the air, and Orlovsky got to close it out by taking the traditional kneel downs for the first time in his NFL career.

“I’m happy for a lot of people on this team, for a lot of people in this organization,” Orlovsky said. “It’s a lot better than the feeling we’ve had lately.”

Indianapolis (1-13) had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity, 50 weeks, since their previous win, also at home against the Titans.

For Orlovsky, the drought was even longer. The seven-year veteran was 0-9 in his previous NFL starts. He didn’t have to do too much Sunday, going 11-of-17 for 82 yards with one touchdown, but he didn’t turn the ball over.

And though the numbers looked nothing like Manning’s, they were good enough to get a win.

“I think in my career, I’ve learned not to take them [wins] for granted,” Orlovsky said, drawing polite laughter.

Donald Brown added a career-high 161 yards rushing, including a late 80-yard TD run for Indy.

The Colts will need their offense to keep playing like this in the final two games, too, after team vice chairman Bill Polian announced Manning would not be back this season, though he has started throwing to his teammates.

For Tennessee, the loss is a devastating blow.

Had Tennessee (7-7) closed out the season with three wins, it might have been able to reach the postseason without any help. Now the Titans will probably need to win their last two games and get help from some others to make it.

But Tennessee had only itself to blame for this one.

Matt Hasselbeck was 27-of-40 for 223 yards with no TDs and two interceptions before being lifted in favor of rookie Jake Locker. Chris Johnson ran 15 times for 55 yards. The Titans lost a fumble and muffed a kickoff out of bounds at their own 1-yard line.

“I never would have expected us to come out, and they’re playing like the team going to the playoffs and we’re the team that’s 0-13,” coach Mike Munchak said. “We just weren’t playing well at all. The intensity wasn’t there at the start.”

Nor was it there at the end.

Locker’s 7-yard TD pass to Nate Washington with 3:43 to go, got Tennessee within one score as tense Colts fans began to wonder if this one would slip away, too.

On the Colts’ next play, the Titans appeared to have Brown corralled in the backfield. But when Brown reversed field and got away from the defenders. Orlovsky jumped in front of the man closest to him, providing enough of an obstacle to give Brown a wide-open lane on the edge. All Brown had to do was outrun the defense 80 yards to the end zone.

The play tied Tom Matte’s record for the franchise’s longest run, set Oct. 12, 1964, against St. Louis.

Brown then enjoyed an overdue celebration with Orlovsky in the end zone.

“The O-line did a great job; somebody came free, the running back’s job is to make him miss. Dan threw a great block, Reggie threw a great block and I think [Jacob] Tamme was running down there, too,” Brown said. “It was just an all-out great effort by the guys on offense.”

Sunday’s game had a totally different complexion from the first 13.

Indy spent the past nine weeks fighting for a lead, any lead. After playing more than 500 minutes from behind or tied, the Colts finally took the lead on Adam Vinatieri’s 47-yard field goal.

The Colts gave it right back just before halftime when Rob Bironas made his second field goal to give the Titans a 6-3 lead. It didn’t last long.

Orlovsky hooked up with Reggie Wayne for an 18-yard TD that made it 10-6 early in the third quarter. The Colts never trailed again.

Jacob Lacey, the oft-criticized cornerback, returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown to give the Colts a 17-6 lead.

On the ensuing kickoff, Marc Mariani tried to field the bouncing ball in the end zone, but kicked it out of bounds inside the Titans 1. That mistake and Brown’s 39-yard run, set up Vinatieri for a 40-yard field goal to make it 20-6 with 12:53 to play.

Locker gave the Titans a chance with his TD pass, but Orlovsky and Brown took it away with run that ended Indy’s chase of 0-16 and the first 0-14 mark in franchise history.

“It means a lot, but we’re a proud ballclub so one game out of 13 or 14, we still have a ways to go,” defensive end Robert Mathis said. “Everybody held the fort today. We just kept chopping wood and the tree fell today.”

Chris Johnson and the Tennessee Titans ran by in a flash and the Buffalo Bills’ season seems to be doing the same.

Johnson ran for 153 yards and two touchdowns, including a 48-yard dash in the second quarter that gave the Titans the lead for good in Sunday’s 23-17 win over the Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

The Titans finished the day with 187 rushing yards and Matt Hasselbeck completed 16-of-25 passes for 140 yards.

“At the beginning of the season the passing game carried us, but now it’s time for the running game to step it up,” said Johnson.

Rob Bironas added three field goals, including a 44-yarder in the fourth that gave the Titans a 23-10 lead.

C.J. Spiller, starting for the second consecutive week in place of the injured Fred Jackson, rushed for 80 his career-high 83 yards in the first half.

“In my first start last year, I was doing a lot of thinking in the game and I really wouldn’t let my ability take over,” said Spiller. “Now, I’m just going out there and playing football, just playing the way I always played.”

Spiller also had a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter nullified by a holding penalty against fullback Corey McIntyre.

“I don’t know what the ref saw, but when you don’t touch a person, let him spin, and don’t even grab him,” said McIntyre. “You be the judge of that. You can call it phantom or whatever, but I know that wasn’t a hold.”

Spiller gave the Bills a 7-3 lead when he recovered his own fumble in the end zone after a 30-yard run down the left sideline.

Titans safety Michael Griffin knocked the ball out of Spiller’s grasp at the 5-yard line and the ball bounced into the end zone. Referees initially ruled Spiller recovered it out the back of the end zone for a touchback, giving Tennessee the ball at the Buffalo 20.

However, a replay challenge overturned the play to a touchdown. Tennessee (7-5), which has won three of four, took the lead on its next  drive on Johnson’s long touchdown run and the running back added a  four-yard score later in the half to make it 17-7.

“If we can run the ball that well, we become a tough team to stop,”  said Titans head coach Mike Munchak.

The Bills got closer with Ryan Fitzpatrick’s two-yard touchdown pass to Stevie Johnson on 4th down with just under three minutes to go in the fourth, but a once promising 5-2 start has turned into a five-game losing streak.

“We’ve still got resolve to go out there and win every game,” said Bills tight end Scott Chandler, had a fumble that set up an 11-play drive for Tennessee that use up more than six minutes of the clock in the third quarter capped by a Bironas field goal. “We were set up in pretty good shape and we need to get back to winning.”

Fitzpatrick finished 29-of-46 for 288 yards and Brad Smith, in his second straight start at wide receiver, caught a career-best seven passes for 72 yards. Stevie Johnson had five catches for 52 yards for Buffalo (5-7).

“I think the reason we lost was fundamentals,” said Bills head coach Chan Gailey. “You’ve got to block, you’ve got to tackle, and you’ve got to take care of the football. Those are the things that happened to us in this game that we didn’t get the job done to win and you have to do those things, fundamentally, in order to be able to win.”

Rookie Colin McCarthy, starting at middle linebacker for Tennessee in place of the injured Barrett Ruud (groin), had a team-best eight tackles, as well as a forced fumble that led to a Chris Johnson touchdown and a fumble recovery that set up a field goal.

“If you want to make a run at this thing in December you need guys to make plays and that’s what we saw today,” said Munchak.

Notebook: The game was blacked out on local TV because it failed to sell out. The announced attendance was 56,463 … Bills safety George Wilson (neck) missed his third straight game … Spiller also had a 41-yard touchdown run in the first half negated by a holding penalty against fullback Corey McIntyre … Johnson had his third 100-yard game in the last four weeks after only through the first eight games of the season … Bills LB Nick Barnett had a game-high 10 tackles and a sack.

A month ago, the Bills were playoff contenders. Now they are closer to last place than second place in the AFC East.

“I’ve never lost five in a row, ever,” Buffalo linebacker Nick Barnett said. “Pop Warner, baseball, all that stuff, so this is new territory for me and I’m sure for a lot of guys. It doesn’t feel good, and I’m sure they don’t like it and I don’t like it.”

From 5-2 to 5-7 — with the possibility of going from first to last in the division — the Bills fall has been fast and furious. A fizzling offense coupled with a defense that has plenty of holes has left the Bills staring at their 12th straight non-playoff season.

“Extremely shocked and disappointed, all those words,” said quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who finished 29 of 46 for 288 yards. “It’s been really disappointing these last five weeks. It just seemed like when a play needed to be made we didn’t make it, and they did. That was the difference.”

A rejuvenated Johnson didn’t help matters. Held under 100 yards seven times in his first eight games, Johnson now has topped the century mark three times in his last four outings.

He scored on runs of 48 and 4 yards to match his season touchdown total. Kicker Rob Bironas did the rest, hitting three field goals, including a 44-yarder midway through the fourth quarter to put the Titans ahead 23-10.

Johnson had 106 yards in the first half.

“We were two different defenses,” Barnett said. “The first half we let (Johnson) make some big plays, and he made them.”

C.J. Spiller had a career-best 83 yards rushing and scored on a 35-yard touchdown run in his second start since Fred Jackson broke a bone in his leg. Receiver Stevie Johnson toned down his touchdown celebration after scoring on a 2-yard catch with 2:58 left to make the game close.

Johnson had been criticized for much of the past week over his celebration in a 28-24 loss to the New York Jets. Johnson was fined $10,000 by the NFL for mocking Jets receiver Plaxico Burress, pretending to shoot himself in the thigh. He was also flagged 15 yards for going to the ground in pretending to be a crashing plane.

This time, Johnson kept his arms to himself and politely handed the ball to the nearest official.

The Titans (7-5) converted two Bills turnovers into 10 points.

Rookie linebacker Colin McCarthy stripped Fitzpatrick on a fourth-and-3 scramble and recovered it at the Titans 43-yard line. Six plays later, Johnson scored on a 4-yard scamper up the middle to put Tennessee up 17-7.

McCarthy also recovered tight end Scott Chandler’s fumble at the Titans 37 to end the Bills’ first possession of the second half. That set up a time-consuming 11-play, 54-yard drive capped by Bironas hitting a 27-yard field goal to give Tennessee a 20-10 lead.

Spiller gave the Bills a 7-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter when he beat the Titans to the left corner and cut it up the sideline. He was chased down from behind by Michael Griffin, who punched the ball loose inside the 10. The ball ricocheted off Spiller’s left knee and was bouncing out of the end zone when the running back made a diving attempt to secure it before sliding out.

Officials initially ruled it a touchback, before reversing the call to a touchdown after replays showed Spiller had control of the ball while inbounds.

The Bills never regained the lead after that.

“It’s a drastic difference from where we were to where we are now,” Bills receiver Brad Smith said. “We look at ourselves in the mirror, and know it’s on us.”

Notes: Johnson’s 48-yard TD run was his longest since scoring a 76-yard touchdown in the 2010 season opener. … Fitzpatrick’s TD pass gave him 20 this season, becoming the first Bills player to throw that many in consecutive years since Jim Kelly did it in 1994-95. … The Bills honored Allen Wilson, longtime beat writer for The Buffalo News, who died Saturday of leukemia. Flowers and a framed picture of “Big Al” were placed at his seat in the press box. Bills safety and captain George Wilson spoke for the players in issuing his condolences, calling the writer a “good man” and “genuine guy.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

In week 12, I was a perfect 3-0 with my picks for the AFC South Division. Both the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans won their games, while the Indianapolis Colts continued their slide to 0-11. While the upcoming games will be more challenging to predict, I think picking at least two or three winners is definitely possible. Let’s take a quick look.

Houston Texans vs. Atlanta Falcons:

Despite losing their second quarterback in as many weeks, the Texans still managed to pull out a 20-13 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Falcons coasted to a 24-14 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Texans have had key players on the injury list at different times throughout this season, but losing two quarterbacks may prove to be too much for them to bounce back from.

Signing Jake Delhomme(notes) to back up rookie quarterback T.J. Yates(notes) should be a valuable acquisition. However, it would not surprise me if Delhomme earned the starting job at some point as he has experience in big games. Everything inside me says I should pick the Falcons because I feel they have a more balanced attack on offense. However, I’m going pick Houston with the belief that Andre Johnson(notes) being back for a second game and their ground attack will be enough to beat Atlanta in a close one.

Tennessee Titans vs. Buffalo Bills:

The Titans are coming off a 23-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while the Bills continued their puzzling slide, losing 28-24 to the New York Jets. What seemed to be a great start to this season for the Bills has been anything but as of late. For the second time in three weeks, Chris Johnson had a good game, rushing for 190 yards on 23 attempts. That being said, I expect him to have another good outing against a Bills’ team that has dropped five of their last six games. The Titans should win this one and remain within striking distance of the Texans.

Indianapolis Colts vs. New England Patriots:

I used to look forward to watching these two teams play each other over the years because I always knew it would be a good football game, regardless out of the outcome. With Peyton Manning(notes) being out and the backups struggling to say the least, I don’t really give the Colts much of a chance in this one. The only interesting storyline is that Dan Orlovsky(notes) will start for the Colts, which is ironic because the last time he played was on a Detroit Lions’ team that went 0-16. The Colts may be headed for a similar fate this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. San Diego Chargers:

The game between these two teams will not provide much excitement. The Jaguars are just 3-8 on the year and recently fired head-coach Jack Del Rio while the Chargers have dropped six straight following a 4-1 start. While San Diego has found a variety of ways to lose games during their skid, I think the Jaguars will be just what the doctor ordered and the Chargers will finally get their fifth win on the year.

James Tillman is a resident of the Chicago-land area who has been an NFL fan for over 20 years. James is also a fan blogger on Yahoo Sports and NJFFL Dynasty. For interesting discussions about the NFL, NBA and MLB, follow him on Twitter @jtillman9693.

Sources:

Colts tab QB Dan Orlovsky as third starter of 2011

Week 13 Picks and Predictions – SB Nation Chicago

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By Rick Stroud and Stephen F. Holder, Times Staff Writers

In Print: Monday, November 28, 2011

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Bucs DT Albert Haynesworth had been looking forward to his return to Nashville, where he spent the first seven seasons of his NFL career. In fact, he still has pretty important ties to the area. • “(Saturday) I got to see my kids, and they’re getting huge,” he said. “I really miss them.” • But Haynesworth made it clear he was in town on business. • “Coming here to play in front of the Titans fans was great, but it would have been even better for me if we would have gotten a win here,” he said. • Haynesworth finished with four tackles, including two for losses. He consistently helped collapse the pocket around QB Matt Hasselbeck and made penetration into the backfield on running plays. On one, when he decked RB Javon Ringer for a loss, Haynesworth got up from the pile and pumped his fists. That drew some mild boos from the Titans fans, who surely recall his decision to leave the team as a free agent in 2009. • Still, Haynesworth’s recollections remain fond. • “I appreciate the memories,” he said.

Clearwater Central Catholic grad and Titans rookie Colin McCarthy faced the team he grew up watching in the bay area. • And in this interesting situation, McCarthy made it known he is the Titans’ middle linebacker of the future. Having started in place of injured former Bucs MLB Barrett Ruud (groin), McCarthy led the Titans with 10 tackles (seven solo), a pass defensed and an interception of Bucs QB Josh Freeman. • Dropping into coverage in his Cover 2 zone — the deep middle of the field — McCarthy read Freeman’s eyes and jumped in front of a pass intended for TE Kellen Winslow, robbing the Bucs of a key fourth-quarter possession. • “What went through my mind was, ‘Just catch it! Just catch it!’ ” McCarthy said afterward. • McCarthy said Tennessee defensive coordinator Jerry Gray had been prepping him all last week to cover throws to Winslow down the middle. • “We’d seen it on film,” McCarthy said. “So, the biggest thing is if they throw it to you, don’t drop it.” • Freeman said there was a miscommunication between he and Winslow, though Freeman wasn’t specific. Whether Winslow ran a different route than Freeman expected wasn’t clear, but Freeman’s decision to throw the ball with McCarthy lurking wasn’t smart in either case. • “It’s just something that, at that point in the game, can’t happen,” Freeman said. “Looking back, we had our timeouts, we had plenty of time.”

Old friend outdoes Morris

. When Bucs coach Raheem Morris played at Irvington (N.J.) High School, he played for coach Chet Parlavecchio, left, probably never dreaming that they would one day face each other on opposite sidelines of an NFL field. But it happened, and it was an important subplot Sunday. As it turns out, it was Parlavecchio, a special teams assistant with the Titans, who cooked up a beautifully timed reverse on a first-quarter kickoff return that resulted in a touchdown.

“I got outdone by my high school head coach,” bemoaned Morris afterward. “Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

On the play, Bucs kickoff specialist Mike Koenen and his cover men were attempting a right-side kickoff, putting the ball near the Bucs sideline. That’s where KR Marc Mariani fielded it at the goal line and worked his way up the field. The Bucs had a wave of cover men converging to pin him against the sideline when he did the unexpected. At the Tennessee 16, Mariani stealthily handed the ball to DB Tommie Campbell, who was heading in the opposite direction. By the time the Bucs found the ball, they were in a footrace that they would lose, resulting in an 84-yard touchdown return for Campbell.

“It was a great call because nobody saw it,” Bucs LB Adam Hayward said. “We were all running to where the ball was. We had no idea.” The play was called 37 Special.

“Once I got past the safety, I knew I had it,” Campbell said.

“They’ve done a lot of tricks, but nothing like that,” said Hayward, Tampa Bay’s special teams captain. “We were expecting something else. It was perfect timing. It was a good call because we had people coming across the field (in the opposite direction) and they just walled us off.” And, for that, Morris can thank his old friend, Coach Parlavecchio.

. The Bucs offense seemed to have major issues finding the end zone, so Tampa Bay needed its defense to help show the way.

That’s where CB Aqib Talib came up big, intercepting Tennessee QB Matt Hasselbeck in the third quarter and returning the ball 27 yards for a momentum-shifting touchdown. It was Talib’s second interception of the season, and both times he has returned them for touchdowns.

The play gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead, but it didn’t hold up.

“We got turnovers, but we didn’t get enough to win,” Talib said.

Talib dived underneath intended receiver Nate Washington, then stopped, cut and hightailed it to the end zone.

Talib had another stellar day, adding three tackles, a pass defensed and a forced a fumble by RB Chris Johnson (which SS Sean Jones recovered).

RB LeGarrette Blount had his second consecutive 100-yard rushing performance Sunday, but it wasn’t one that the second-year player is likely to celebrate. • Moments after the game, when coach Raheem Morris was asked about Blount, he succinctly summed up the day of his battering-ram ball carrier, who fumbled twice. • “LeGarrette went out and ran the ball well, but you have to hang on to the football at all costs,” Morris said. “When you’re carrying that football, you’re carrying the whole team on your back.” • Blount rushed for 103 yards on 20 carries, a 5.2-yard average. He also caught three passes for 56 yards, including a short reception in which he rumbled 35 yards. • A subdued Blount, who had his third 100-yard game of the season, had few answers afterward. • “We just didn’t hold on to the ball tight enough,” he said. “We didn’t hold on to the ball the way we were taught.”

Johnson awakens against Bucs D

. Titans RB Chris Johnson had run for 4,598 yards in his three previous seasons. Yet, this season, he had not flirted with the sort of rare numbers he had since 2008 — until Sunday. The Orlando native had the third-best effort of his career, running for 190 yards on 23 carries, dazzling with his precise, quick cutting and rapid acceleration that left the Bucs exasperated.

The Bucs seemed to have Johnson under wraps in the first half, when they gang-tackled him, dropped him for losses and generally limited his effectiveness, holding him to 46 yards at halftime. Then, everything changed.

“The way he is, he can make up for (negative plays),” said Bucs DT Albert Haynesworth, a former teammate of Johnson’s. “He’s Chris Johnson. You don’t really come in and try to stop him. You just want to contain him. That was kind of the plan.”

The Bucs could’ve limited Johnson by limiting his opportunities, but that would have required getting defensive stops and finishing drives on offense. In the late going, they did neither.

“He got too many yards,” coach Raheem Morris said. “He had a couple breakout runs. He’s a great running back. Make no mistake about it. When great running backs get that many carries and that many touches, you get a chance to be explosive and (he’s) going to be. The only way to stop him is to get him off the football field.”

The Bucs entered the game with the NFL’s 31st-ranked defense. They didn’t help their ranking with Sunday’s performance, giving up 352 yards.

Quick hits

. DT Brian Price, who has been hampered by injuries, sprained his ankle in the second quarter and was seen in the locker room on crutches. The severity of the injury is unknown.

. Rookie DE Da’Quan Bowers made his first start, replacing injured Michael Bennett, and had one tackle.

. CB Ronde Barber‘s forced fumble, which led to a Bucs touchdown, was his first of the season and the 14th of his career.

. DE Adrian Clayborn‘s third-quarter sack was his fifth of the season, a team high.

. After recording just one TD reception in the first nine games, WR Mike Williams has now scored in back-to-back weeks and has 14 in his career.

Slipping and sliding

. The Nashville area was bracing for a cold front that was expected to drop more than an inch of rain. Mother Nature did not disappoint. The playing surface at LP Field was covered by a tarp before kickoff. But with rain falling consistently, it didn’t take long for the conditions to affect the game. There were nine combined turnovers, including six lost fumbles (four by the Bucs). At times, ball carriers lost their footing when trying to plant on the wet turf, which had been resodded just last week. “I think there were some good hits where the ball was going to come out,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “But I think the weather ends up being the main reason for it. … It adds to it. It was definitely the first time we have played in that weather.” Said Bucs coach Raheem Morris: “Obviously there was a lot of rain. But it’s football. That’s what we play this game for. Nobody wants to play in pretty (weather) all the time. It’s about the elements. That’s why we play, and that’s what we signed up for. I actually enjoyed it. I want to play more games like that.”

[Last modified: Nov 27, 2011 10:32 PM]

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