Blocked punt keys Colts' second-half implosion, fall 26-20 at home to Titans

INDIANAPOLIS — After another unsuccessful second-half drive, the Colts lined up to punt from their own 37-yard line. After Indianapolis gave up 13 consecutive points, the game was now tied and beginning to unravel from beneath them in the fourth quarter. Indianapolis needed a play from its usually excellent special teams unit to stop the bleeding.

They got the opposite.

As Rigoberto Sanchez began his punting motion, Tennessee’s Julius Chestnut ran through the Indianapolis blocking making his way to Sanchez just as he made contact with the ball, blocking it clean and into the backfield. Emerging from the crowd, Oluwafemi Oladejo scooped up the loose ball and took it 14 yards for the Titans‘ touchdown.

Looking to get back on track, the Colts imploded on a routine special-teams play, and it proved to be pivotal. The Titans took the lead for the first time in the game and the Colts would not regain it.

TITANS BLOCKED PUNT TD FOR THE LEAD

TENvsIND on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPluspic.twitter.com/Qpn4NxSYWz

— NFL (@NFL) October 18, 2026

The Titans’ special teams unit nearly got to the previous two punts. Colts head coach Shane Steichen addressed the issue, and why it went unfixed, leading to the costly error.

“It has to be (fixed), and of course we’re going to look at that really freaking hard on this week,” he said.

The absence of an in-game adjustment proved critical, at a time when the Colts needed the complete opposite.

After holding Tennessee scoreless for more than half the game, the Colts’ defense and special teams were responsible for 20 straight Titans points.

The Colts were able to string together an eight-play, 72-yard touchdown drive on the next possession to re-tie the score but that was the final bright spot of the afternoon and marked their lone scoring drive in the second half.

As the Colts continued to struggle, the displeasure among fans grew louder and louder. It was an all-around abysmal half of football for Indianapolis, and the blocked punt seemed to be the catalyst that pushed the Colts to their breaking point in this divisional matchup.

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Blocked punt keys Colts’ second-half implosion, fall 26-20 at home to Titans