Colts defeat Titans 33-17 for final AFC playoff spot

NASHVILLE – The Indianapolis Colts have Andrew Luck healthy and throwing the ball all over the field.

That's more than enough with injured Marcus Mariota stuck watching from the Tennessee sideline.

Luck threw for 285 yards and three scores and the Colts beat the Titans 33-17 Sunday night for the final spot in the postseason as the AFC's No. 6 seed.

With the Texans winning the AFC South title earlier Sunday with a victory over Jacksonville, that left the Colts and Titans playing for the second wild-card berth and a visit to Houston on Saturday.

"It's been a lot of fun," Luck said. "It's been a journey, that's for sure. I think what this team is doing is enjoying the journey."

Luck remained perfect vs. Tennessee, notching his 11th victory for the most victories by a quarterback since at least 1970 in his first 11 starts against one franchise. He helped the Colts (10-6) — under first-year coach Frank Reich — end their postseason drought by winning for the ninth time in 10 games following a 1-5 start to the season.

"I mean you're 1-5, and that's special," Reich said. "It not only takes the whole team for 10 weeks, so that's very special."

"We made a decision that Marcus wasn't going to play tonight," said Vrabel, who gave no details on when the decision not to start Mariota was made or the seriousness of his injury.