Robert Saleh walked into his postgame news conference in Indianapolis with his first win as the Tennessee Titans’ head coach and described the seven days before it as the hardest stretch of his short tenure. Tennessee came back from 13-0 down at halftime to beat the Indianapolis Colts 26-20 on Sunday, and Saleh tied the result directly to how his players handled the week after a loss to Houston.
“It was a hard week, a gut-check week in my opinion,” Saleh said. He explained that the team had believed it was improving before the Texans game, and that the defeat landed hard on a group that was still looking for a first win. The week, he said, included candid conversations inside the building, and he credited the roster for answering them on the field.
"It was a gut check week"
HC Robert Saleh on how the team responded after a tough week pic.twitter.com/WHYaJTEv5n
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 18, 2026
What the coach pointed to
Saleh’s message all week had been about winning individual matchups, and Sunday’s game turned on exactly those moments. The Colts finished the first half with 232 yards to Tennessee’s 64. On the first snap of the third quarter, Jeffery Simmons knocked the ball loose from Jonathan Taylor, and Joey Slye turned the takeaway into a 29-yard field goal. Slye added a 56-yarder before the quarter ended.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Titans’ special teams. Chimere Dike’s 58-yard punt return set up Cam Ward’s 8-yard touchdown pass to rookie Carnell Tate, which tied the game at 13. Minutes later James Williams Sr. blocked a punt and Oluwafemi Oladejo carried it 14 yards into the end zone for a 20-13 lead. After Taylor’s 4-yard run drew Indianapolis level, Slye won it with field goals from 49 yards with 2:03 left and from 44 yards with 43 seconds to go.
The defense finished with six sacks and three takeaways. Simmons had two of the sacks, moving him to 46 1/2 for his Titans career and past Ted Washington into 10th place on the franchise list. Safety Amani Hooker, back from a concussion, intercepted Daniel Jones, who threw two picks in all.
Saleh singled out the plays rather than the overall performance, which was far from clean. Ward threw for just 102 yards, hitting half of his 22 attempts, with a touchdown and an interception, and the offense settled for field goals on several trips. Tate, with six catches for 70 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and Wan’Dale Robinson were the parts of the passing game the coach highlighted, along with Ward’s ability to escape the pocket.
"To win in this league you've gotta make plays"
HC Robert Saleh on the team making plays pic.twitter.com/252fwo1ak6
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) October 18, 2026
No celebration beyond Sunday night
The coach was careful not to treat one result as a turnaround for a team that is now 1-5. He described the win as “a little bit of joy for these next 12 hours,” and said the staff would review the film on Monday with the same honesty it applied after losses, building on what worked and correcting what did not. Saleh has warned his players that teams tend to overreact in both directions, harsher after defeats and softer after wins, and he wants neither.
The victory also ended Tennessee’s six-game losing streak against Indianapolis, which dropped to 2-4.
What comes next
The Titans return to Nissan Stadium to host the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, October 25, at 1:00 p.m. EDT. The matchup page is in the Browns at Titans Game Center.
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