INDIANAPOLIS >> DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry took it personally when Tennessee started slowly today.

The two running backs made sure they finished with a flurry.

Henry delivered the body blows with five strong runs midway through the fourth quarter and Murray finally punched it in from 1 yard with 5:59 left, giving the Titans a 20-16 win and their first victory in 10 tries at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“Derrick came in and made some good runs,” Marcus Mariota said. “When you have a front like we do and you can lean on those guys, it’s huge. Their abilities and the way they can dominate the line of scrimmage is huge.”

This was far from a dominant performance, though.

The Titans (7-4) finished with 276 total yards, and the first half was a debacle.

Mariota, a Saint Louis alum, was picked off twice, the league’s No. 12 rushing offense produced 9 yards on 11 carries, and all Tennessee could muster was two field goals.

During a 30-minute stretch, from late in the first quarter till late in the third, the Titans managed just one first down. And for the second straight game against the Colts (3-8), Tennessee trailed by 10 in the third quarter.

But the defense came up with eight sacks, the key fumble recovery late in the third quarter and kept it close enough to let the Murray-Henry combination to make a difference late.

All those shots eventually wore down Indy’s defense — as it did six weeks earlier in Nashville when the Titans snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series.

This time, Tennessee got its first season sweep since 2002 and its first win since the Colts’ stadium opened in 2008 . And now they have their best 11-game record since going 10-1 in 2008, a share of the AFC South lead with Jacksonville, and the current tiebreaker courtesy of a 37-16 road win over the Jaguars in Week 2.

“They did an outstanding job of stuffing us,” coach Mike Mularkey said, referring to the Colts’ run defense. “We came in at halftime and made some adjustments. The guys took it personally that we didn’t run the ball very well and it helped win the game for us.”

The Colts have lost three straight at home and five of six overall in frustratingly familiar fashion.

They took a 13-6 lead on Frank Gore’s 14-yard run late in the first half and extended the lead to 16-6 on Adam Vinatieri’s 42-yard field goal with 6:05 left in the third.

Then things slipped away.

Rookie running back Marlon Mack lost the ball on a pitch and Kevin Byard recovered the ball at the Colts’ 4-yard line. After an offside penalty moved the ball to the 2, Mariota connected with Delanie Walker in the corner of the end zone to cut the deficit to 16-13 with 1:50 left.

Indy only picked up only one more first down.

“These are 60-minute ballgames. They are not 30 minutes; they are not 45 minutes. They are 60-minute games,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “Plenty of opportunities to put that team away, we didn’t take advantage of those opportunities.”

Instead Murray and Henry handled the ball on 13 of the Titans’ last 15 plays, including the TD run, before Mariota dropped to his knee three straight times to close it out. Mariota completed 17 of 25 passes for 184 yards.

KEY NUMBERS

Titans: Tennessee ran 28 times for 92 yards. … The Titans came up one sack short of matching the franchise record, which had been twice previously and most recently in 1971 against the Cincinnati Bengals. … The Titans had 276 total yards, compared with 254 for the Colts.

Colts: Frank Gore ran 17 times for 62 yards and one touchdown, the 77th of his career to tie Tony Dorsett for No. 22 on the league’s career list. … Tight end Jack Doyle had seven catches for 94 yards. … The Colts have blown double-digit second-half leads four times this season.

INJURIES

Titans: Receiver Rishard Mathews missed his first game this season with a hamstring injury. Walker, left tackle Taylor Lewan and linebacker Jayon Brown all left briefly but returned. Safety Da’Norris Searcy hurt his ankle in the second half and there was no immediate update on his condition.

Colts: Cornerback Rashaan Melvin left after injuring his hand and did not return after having an X-ray. Starting center Ryan Kelly was held out in the second half because of a concussion.

UP NEXT

Titans: Continue their march in the AFC South when they host Houston next Sunday.

Colts: Will try to even the season series at Jacksonville next Sunday.