Tennessee Titans grades vs. Colts: Making sense of offense's 'A' first half, 'F' second half

INDIANAPOLIS – The Tennessee Titans built a big first-half lead, then held on to beat the Indianapolis Colts 24-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday.

Here’s how we graded the Titans:

Offense: C

The offense got an A for the first half, an F for the second half, averaging out to a C.

The Titans have scored only seven second-half points this season, with the lone TD coming in the third quarter against the New York Giants in the season opener.

Derrick Henry (114 yards, 1 TD) had his best game this season, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill was on target, but the offense was stale and unproductive in the second half for the fourth straight game.

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SECOND-HALF STRUGGLESTennessee Titans 'have nowhere near played our best four quarters'

The offense had 215 total yards in the first half and only 28 yards on 20 plays in the second half.

The Titans scored two touchdowns and a field goal on their first three possessions in the first half, then punted four straight times before milking out the game on their final possession.

On a critical third-and-4, Tannehill hit tight end Chig Okonkwo with a play-action pass for a first down, which sealed the win.

Defense: A-

The defense was responsible for the first big play of the game when Denico Autry sacked Matt Ryan, caused him to fumble, and Bud Durpee suffered an injury while recovering the ball at the Colts' 32-yard line.

That happened just five minutes in and set the tone early. It led to Tannehill's 7-yard TD pass to Robert Woods five plays later.

Autry came up big again in the third quarter when he hit Ryan at midfield on third down, causing Ryan to fumble again. The Colts recovered but the play resulted in a 13-yard loss and stopped some of the momentum the Colts had early in the second half.

The Titans defense held rushing champion Jonathan Taylor to 42 yards on 20 carries. His biggest gain was only 11 yards.

It wasn't all good for the defense. Ryan had receivers open throughout the game and finally started hitting them in the second half. He completed passes to 10 different receivers.

Special teams: C-

The Titans could have had an even bigger halftime lead if the field goal unit had gotten on the field in enough time for a late attempt. Tannehill, on a scramble, failed to pick up a first down, bringing up fourth down at the Colts 41.

With six seconds on the clock, the field goal unit seemed disheveled as it ran onto the field and was unable to get set before time expired. Coach Mike Vrabel said he would have to take a closer look at the tape to see what happened.

Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse averaged 52.8 yards on four punts, keeping the Colts backed up deep in their own territory for much of the game.

Coaching: C

The issue with the team not coming out ready to play in the second half falls mainly on the coaching staff and on Vrabel in particular.

It's as perplexing as it is frustrating for the staff, and it will likely end up costing the Titans in the long run if it doesn't get fixed soon.

The defensive staff came up with a brilliant scheme to keep Taylor bottled up, and offensive coordinator Todd Downing deserves credit for dialing up the Tannehill-to-Okonkwo play action-pass for a first down that sealed the win.

Overall: B+

The Titans have battled back from an 0-2 start to get to 2-2 and stay in the thick of the AFC South race. A loss Sunday would have been a huge setback, especially in terms of confidence for a team that is still trying to put together a complete game. Winning the last two games while not playing their best could pay off for the Titans.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Titans grades vs. Colts: Making sense of this curious offense