The Tennessee Titans physically man-handled the Indianapolis Colts in a big divisional win on Sunday. The Titans have now owned the Colts over the last few seasons, winning four straight games, four straight road games and five out of the last six total.
Ironically enough, one of the main contributing factors in the beatdown was a former Colt who was casted off, Denico Autry.
Autry put up 20 sacks in three seasons in Indianapolis, but the Colts decided not to retain him for some reason. As they say: one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
The Titans gladly picked up Autry, bolstering their own pass-rush while weakening their biggest rivals’, and he immediately paid dividends.
Not only did Autry tie a career-high in sacks with nine in 2021, but he also helped unlock the Titans’ young stars, Jeffery Simmons and Harold Landry.
Autry can rush inside or outside and he is incredible at running pass-rush stunts, something the Titans defensive coaches love to utilize. He is truly a perfect fit, and even without Landry, Autry continues to show that versatility.
He may be one of the most underrated players in the NFL; Lord knows the Colts underrated him. On Sunday, he reminded the NFL and, more specifically the Colts, just how disruptive his blend of power, quickness and versatility can be.
So, as we always do, let’s step into the film room and see exactly how Denico Autry did it.
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Autry got the party started early in Indy. On the very first drive he got a strip sack and gave the Titans’ offense an early, easy scoring chance. Autry essentially gifted the Titans seven points out of the gate.
Not only does Autry create a huge play, but he does it against ALL-GALAXY guard Quenton Nelson (insert eye roll emoji).
Autry wins with quickness to the outside on Nelson and swims his inside arm under Nelson’s hands so he can’t regain leverage. Big-time play, and to do against the other team’s best player early sends a message.
And he hits a nasty fadeaway as well!
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On the last play, Autry made an impact from rushing inside; we see that here as well, except this time, rather than quickness, Autry uses his power, driving the guard back towards Matt Ryan.
This is a critical red zone play and honestly, Michael Pittman is open. Autry doesn’t get a sack, but the pressure affects Ryan’s throw and it’s just a touch too tall for Pittman to get both feet in.
Remember Al Pacino in “Any Given Sunday”: it’s a game of inches, baby.
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We have seen Autry win twice on the inside on both guards; that is where he does his best work. In the absence of Landry though, naturally Autry will have to work more on the edge as well.
He wins here from that alignment. Quickness again is the key here, as Nico moves quickly to the inside of tackle Matt Pryor with a juke and then forces Ryan to dump it out to the checkdown. Great tackle by Roger McCreary.
This was second-to-last play the defense had to play. The Titans are holding off another comeback attempt and it may not stand out, but forcing a quick throw for negative yards is HUGE at this point in the game.
Not only that, but it sets up the final defensive play of the game as an obvious passing situation, but we will get to that play in just a moment…
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I mentioned how Autry can win from the inside or outside earlier, but we also have to talk about the third element to his rush game: stunts.
Autry is excellent at running the twists and loop stunts the Titans love as an interior rusher. He is able to pull linemen with him or simply knock them around.
He is also quick enough to dart through open spaces and powerful enough to take advantage if a linemen gets off balance, not just for himself, but for his teammates as well.
Here, Autry and Mario Edwards dive to the left and Simmons loops around to the right. This is four-on-three and the Titans still win. Why? Because Autry gets just a sliver of space between the center and guard, then slides through to force a bad throw and incompletion.
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I recognize that Autry has the most value to the Titans as a rusher, but I also need to highlight how Autry impacted the run game.
The Titans love to pinch down their edges against shotgun runs. In Week 1, the Giants had a mobile QB which made it tougher, but Matt Ryan is a statue.
The Titans decided to aggressively send the edges down the line of scrimmage in hopes they would blow up the lead puller and ultimately shut down those runs — that is exactly what they did.
Watch Autry here as he crashes down hard and takes on the lead pull of Mo Alie-Cox. Autry is unbothered and it leaves no crease for Jonathan Taylor to get through. Taylor is forced to cut back into the waiting embrace of Dylan Cole.
AP Photo/John Froschauer
On this one, Taylor didn’t bother with going to Autry’s side, but boy he SMOKED Cox and put him in the dirt. I simply enjoyed it too much not to include it. Hope you enjoy it as much as me.
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That brings us to the final play of the game for the defense.
Autry got the party started with the strip sack on the first drive, so it only makes sense he would let everyone in Indianapolis know that it is time to go home as well.
A few plays above, I showed Autry getting pressure, forcing a quick throw to the back and setting up a negative play. Well, that play came directly before this one.
It was so key because the Titans were only up seven and a touchdown drive would tie the game. Autry’s pressure set up a third-and-long, making it an obvious passing situation.
Autry runs a tackle-end twist stunt with Edwards. The offensive linemen are basically trying to pass the rusher to each other as they cross, but Autry is so quick he gets to the crease before the tackle can clamp down properly. Autry uses his power then to push the tackle out of his lane.
This play shows it all. Autry uses quickness then power to execute a rush stunt. He gets to Matt Ryan, the Colts surrender and try to kick a field goal but miss it. Autry tells the people of Indy to head out.
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The Titans will need Autry to continue his excellent play as of late. The pass-rush, even without Landry, has to be the deciding factor still for the Titans’ defense if they want to play well.
Autry’s incredible blend of power, quickness and versatility has made him one of the best free-agent signings in Titans history. So, like Denico Autry himself, the Titans got some sweet, sweet revenge on Sunday.