Big game last night in the AFC South, between two potential playoff teams (I was going to say probable, but even with the extra spot it looks possible that a 10-win team will miss the playoffs -- there are currently 9 AFC teams at 5-3 or better). It was the little things that made the difference in Indianapolis' win.

It's not often when we're talking a lot about special teams in general and punters specifically, but they were huge last night. Too many times the Titans either gave up points or failed to get them on special teams, and the result was a big win for Indianapolis.

QUARTERBACKS:

We've given Philip Rivers plenty of heat this year, and it's deserved. He looks like he's moving in slow motion, old and immobile. Some of the team's short-yardage failures are definitely a result of opponents knowing he can't scramble or even move, really (the Colts put in Jacoby Brissett for a game-clinching touchdown sneak, and that will definitely show up again). It's not hard to pick out his worst plays from last night, a sack right before the half that almost cost the team 3 points, and an end-zone pick where he was fortunate the defender didn't get both feet in bounds.

But Rivers really passed the ball well last night, on target with his receivers and spreading it around. Just the 1 touchdown, but he lost another short one on a frustrating Zapruder reversal where it was determined Zach Pascal's elbow was down a millisecond before the ball broke the plane of the goal line. If you had to start Rivers last night (I did, with Mahomes and Ryan on byes) you're disappointed to get just 1 score, but a serviceable outing. I don't know if the Colts will be able to beat teams with better pass rushes come playoff time, but just maybe they can win a big game with Rivers, playing like he did last night.

Ryan Tannehill was a little off the mark on some throws. He didn't have Rodger Saffold for about half the game and was under heavy pressure, and early on a perfect sideline pass (where he hung in and got leveled) that would have gone for a 60ish-yard touchdown was dropped by A.J. Brown. Tannehill fares best when play-action is working, and that was tough to do once the team went down 10 points in the third quarter. He was very sharp on the opening drive but it was all downhill from there, though not much of the struggles were on him. Colts defense isn't a great one to put quarterbacks up against.

RUNNING BACKS:

Sadly, Nyheim Hines' big game was wasted on fantasy benches in a lot of leagues. When you know a team is going to use three running backs, it's hard to put one into a lineup. But Hines was the star of this one, and he got extended run because Indianapolis' other two running backs were simply not good. I'll get to Jonathan Taylor in a minute. Jordan Wilkins looked so good at Detroit two weeks ago. Last night he looked like he shouldn't be on an NFL roster, both as a runner and on an awful pass route (why is that play being called for him?) where he stopped his route near the goal line which could have easily resulted in a Pick Six. Taylor wasn't much better, continually running into the line with no effect in short-yardage situations (I think he converted one successfully). After a failed goal-line sequence early in the third quarter where both guys got stuffed, it was Hines on the next series, scoring a short touchdown. The last time I updated the offensive line rankings someone questioned the lofty ranking of the Colts based on how poorly the backs were performing. I think a lot of it just has to be placed on Taylor, and also Wilkins, because on some of Hines' nice runs you could see things cleaned out pretty good by the left side of the line. Hines was picking up good yards on those plays, Taylor and Wilkins weren't. Will be interesting to see how the Colts handle things going forward, but I think Hines should and probably will have a larger role. He has to.

Derrick Henry averaged 5.4 yards per attempt and rushed for over 100 yards. But he lost a short touchdown on a Jonnu Smith run and tends to not be as used when the team falls behind. Could have gone differently, but for the blocked punt touchdown and a missed field goal that left the Titans down two scores. A 120-yard, 1-2 touchdown game from Henry was in the realm of possibilities. I just think the rest of the team let him down. Looks like D'Onta Foreman and Jeremy McNichols are splitting the work behind Henry, and I think Foreman should play a little more, but there's not going to be much value here regardless.

WIDE RECEIVERS:

The exciting player to talk about here is Colts rookie Michael Pittman, another member of that outstanding 2020 wide receiver class. He was making plays all night, close to getting in the end zone for a really nice game on about three occasions. They're using him on throws over the middle and on the edge, plus an endaround run -- sure looks like he'll be their best wideout going forward. Not to make too much of it, but T.Y. Hilton looks like just a guy. Maybe he wasn't fully healthy coming back from injury, maybe Rivers can't make the throws that used to be key to Hilton's value. But the rest of the way I don't know that he's going to be any better than Zach Pascal, who as noted earlier got kind of screwed on a short touchdown. I understand replay reviews are about getting calls right but that kind of parsing on video footage just seems unnecessary. (I was nervous they were going to do the same thing to Hines' touchdown catch, he impressively kept his knee from grazing the ground). Hilton and Pascal, fittingly, had nearly identical stats.

Frustrating night for A.J. Brown. He was seeing tight coverage, he thought he was covered too aggressively on a couple of plays, and of course he had the early drop on what would have been a long touchdown. Corey Davis was better, with a really nice sideline catch in there; I heard before the game he just lost his older brother to cancer, sad stuff and credit to him for playing in a big game and hoping to honor him. I thought the Titans definitely missed Adam Humphries on a couple of key plays over the middle that fell incomplete, one to Anthony Firkser.

TIGHT ENDS:

Jonnu Smith caught only 2 of the 6 passes sent his way; seemed to be covered pretty tightly. Saved his value with a touchdown run on those little plays half the teams are using these days near the goal line (the Colts themselves do). Titans tight ends collectively with 3 catches on 9 targets, so not a great night.

With the Colts, with Jack Doyle inactive, some probably tried to tap into things with either Trey Burton or Mo Alie-Cox. Burton caught all 3 passes sent his way but a fairly quiet night, surprising they didn't try one of those goal-line runs with him the way their backs were getting stuffed. As for Alie-Cox, I'm one of the people wondering why the Colts don't use him more often. I think that question was kind of answered last night on a goal-line series where he ran a clumsy-looking route and then simply flattened a defender before looking for the pass that sailed over his head. If the ball had been catchable he definitely would have been flagged for offensive interference; it was blatant. Seems possible that Alie-Cox is a nice athlete without much idea of how to play the position (not to overrate one play, but there it is).

KICKERS AND SPECIAL TEAMS:

Let's not feel bad for Stephen Gostkowski, who's got multiple Super Bowl rings and all. I don't know how the Titans can keep sending him out there. His missed 44-yard field goal last night that would have made it a one-score game seemed to suck the life out of the offense. I'm aware he also made a 50-yarder, but the guy is 12 of 20 on the season; that ain't good. If the Titans aren't at least considering alternatives at this point they're insane. Rodrigo Blankenship had a nice 10-point game and could easily have had an even better night (Colts kept passing up field goals to attempt 4th-down conversions).

Punting was ridiculously costly for Tennessee, as they turned a 17-13 lead into a 27-17 deficit with back-to-back punts that went for 17 yards (punter's fault) and were blocked for a touchdown (not the punter's fault, he had no chance). The Colts' first punt came with 3 minutes left in the game.

A brief word of praise for Jadeveon Clowney, who I've criticized once or twice in defensive player text this year. He was in the backfield blowing up plays on multiple occasions. Darius Leonard and his 9 total tackles were the star for the Colts. A weak unnecessary roughness call on a fairly gentle sideline shove of Tannehill.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Both of these teams are pretty good, and if I'm guessing on the playoff field right now, I think they both make it (Steelers, Ravens, Kansas City and Buffalo are probable, Dolphins-Raiders and whichever one of these teams doesn't win the division are fighting for two spots). Titans probably have the offensive edge, but Colts have a big advantage in both defense and special teams, and that kind of stuff matters. These teams will play again in 17 days, and it will probably be another good one, and likely decide the AFC South.