Titans stay in command with win over rival Colts

The Tennessee Titans keep winning, and not even Peyton Manning could stop the NFL’s only undefeated team.

LenDale White ran for two touchdowns, Chris Hope intercepted two Manning passes and the Titans beat the Indianapolis Colts, 31-21, Monday night.

The Titans (7-0) have won 10 straight regular-season games, matching the second-best streak in franchise history.

More important, Tennessee grabbed control of the AFC South away from the team that has dominated this division in winning the last five titles.

Kerry Collins outplayed Manning, throwing for 193 yards with no interceptions.

“We’re trying to get where they’ve been,” Collins said. “It was a big step for us tonight, I think.”

Jeff Fisher joined Tom Landry and Don Shula as the only NFL coaches to start 7-0 in their 15th season or later.

He credited his defense for staying patient against Manning and his team for focusing on the Colts, not its surprising start.

“The season’s still early, and there’s a lot of games left,” Fisher said. “Our focus was on the Colts and trying to prepare . . . to try to find a way to beat them. That was the commitment that we made this week. We’re not looking ahead. We’ll now look ahead to next weekend. As far as the division and all that stuff’s concerned, we’re just trying to win ballgames right now.”

Coach Tony Dungy had called this a must-win for Indianapolis to have any chance at winning the division, but now his Colts (3-4) have lost two straight in their worst start since Manning’s rookie season.

The Colts trail Tennessee by four games in the loss column with nine games left and New England visiting on Sunday night.

“It’s going to make it doubtful for us to win the division, but . . . we’ll see what the last nine games bring,” Dungy said. “If we play well and get ourselves on a streak and get going, we can be a playoff team. I think once you get in the playoffs, anything can happen as we’ve seen two of the last three years.”