NASHVILLE – The Giants face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
Here’s a look at six things to watch for before a contest:
Titans quarterback Will Levis practiced all week after suffering a right shoulder injury in Week 4 against the Dolphins, and he will start Sunday. The Giants depend on his stability and stability. Levis leads all players with nine giveaways in 2024 (6 INTs, 3 assists). He is tied with quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Anthony Richardson (Colts) for most rushing yards this season. Levis threw for 224 yards with a touchdown and zero interceptions in his first meeting with the Colts in 2023. He had no interceptions in three of four career starts versus the division.
Can the defense hold up?
The Titans enter Week 6 ranked first in the NFL in total defense, allowing 243.8 yards per game. The unit has been particularly good in pass defense, once again ranking first in the league by allowing just 124.0 yards per contest. Through four games, the Giants have forced a punt on 50 percent of their opponent’s drives, the highest percentage in the NFL. The Giants rank 15th in the NFL in points allowed (22.5), but seventh in points per drive allowed (1.6). What the Giants need to do better is force turnovers — they rank 29th in the NFL in that category. The Colts said Friday that Richardson will be listed as questionable, which will be a game-time decision.
Levis was sacked 15 times through the first four games of the season, and didn’t even reach halftime in Week 4. In last year’s game against the Colts, he was sacked six times. And while the Titans allowed just one sack against the Dolphins, the reality is that the team only committed three passes in the second half, so turnovers were few and far between. This week, the Giants inserted Leroy Watson IV into the mix at right tackle, in competition with Nicholas Petit-Frere. Across the board, the Giants need to be better offensively, and give their quarterback time to work.
One of the best developments from the game against Miami was the team’s ability to run the football. The Giants had a season-high 142 rushing yards against the Dolphins. The team has rushed for over 130 yards in three of four games this season. Tony Pollard leads the Titans with 246 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 2024. He is averaging 4.5 yards after contact/carry this season, the highest among all running backs with more than 20 carries, according to NextGenStats. Giants running back Tyjae Spears scored his first touchdown of the season at Miami, and had 88 scrimmage yards (75 rushing, 13 receiving yards) in the last meeting against Indianapolis. The Colts are allowing 157.0 yards per contest, which ranks 31st in the NFL.
I hate to remind everyone of this: Titans kicker Ryan Stonehouse suffered a knee injury against the Colts in December last year after being hit by a holding penalty. It was a sign of things to come, as the Titans have allowed two blocked kicks this year, and had another blocked kick in last week’s game. The Giants need to do better at protecting kicks and preventing that from happening. Titans kicker Nick Falk is coming out of a game with five field goals — the team would like to see him kick more extra points.
The Giants are 1-3 and now have a 2 1/2-point advantage over the Colts after a line change during the week. It’s a crucial game for the Titans, who are still trying to dig themselves out of an early slump. Here’s how the odds change based on Sunday’s result: Since 1990, teams starting 2-3 have made the playoffs 23.0% (65/283) of the time, won the division 9.2% (26/283) of the time and won the Super Bowl. Bowl 0.4% (1/283) of the time. The playoff percentage for teams that started 1-4 is pretty bleak: 6.6% (11/167) went to the playoffs, 4.8% (8/167) went to win the division, but 0.0% (0/167) went to win the Super Bowl. A good sign: The Titans have won eight straight games after the bye week.
