INDIANAPOLIS (Ticker) -- Tony Dungy is instilling some toughness in the Indianapolis Colts.
Sparked by a swarming defense and the running of Edgerrin James, the Colts made an early statement in the AFC Central Division with a 33-7 rout of the Tennessee Titans.
In his second season as Colts coach, Dungy has a talented offensive team but his main job is rebuilding a defense that has been the club's downfall in past seasons.
"The defense, they're doing their job," James said. "That was one of the things coach (Tony) Dungy stressed. When he came here, everybody knew he had a defensive mind-set. He was going to put the defense in a position where we could win while we do our part on the offensive side of the ball."
"This defense is based on assignments and everybody is doing their job," Colts defensive end Chad Bratzke said. "I think we are all getting on the same page now. I think we are more physical when we are all doing our jobs."
Dungy seems to be doing a good job through two games. In last week's opener, the Colts held the Cleveland Browns to a pair of field goals in a 9-6 victory. Dungy had to be just as pleased in this one.
The Colts got constant pressure on Titans quarterback Steve McNair and briefly sent one of the NFL's toughest players to the sideline in the second quarter. McNair suffered a dislocated right ring finger and missed a series to start the second half before returning.
After McNair came back, the Colts had little problem shutting him and the rest of the Titans' offense down. Tennessee did not get its initial first down of the second half until there were seven minutes remaining in the contest.
"Anytime you get ahead and the other team has to throw, they're going to make mistakes," Dungy said. "In the past, when we played them, it's been us. They've been ahead. They've been able to tee off, and we've made mistakes. Today, the shoe was on the other foot."
James paced a strong ground attack as he carried 30 times for 121 yards, including a two-yard touchdown run in the second quarter that gave the Colts (2-0) a 10-7 lead. He surpassed 5,000 career yards rushing in the first quarter.
"We knew we could run the ball last week," James said. "Last week, I felt like we should have run the ball more. They said we were going to run it this week."
Cornerback Nick Harper capped the win when he intercepted a pass by backup Billy Volek and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown.
McNair finished 15-of-24 for 136 yards and a touchdown. He also was sacked three times and the mobile quarterback was a non-factor running the ball.
Last season, the Titans (1-1) beat the Colts twice en route to winning the division by one game.
"It was a total team loss," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "It was an offensive, defensive, coaching and special teams loss. I give the Colts a lot of credit for the win, but this was a total team loss.
The Colts' defense established itself from the start, forcing the three-and-out on the game's opening possession.
Manning followed by directing a 12-play, 73-yard drive that Mike Vanderjagt capped with a 29-yard field goal. James carried the load on the drive, rushing for 29 yards on eight attempts.
The Titans managed their only scoring drive early in the second quarter, when they moved 38 yards in nine plays. They used a similar tactic like the Colts by pounding Eddie George, who carried eight times for 23 yards.
But after George was stopped twice inside the 2 and a false start penalty, McNair found rookie Tyrone Calico over the middle for a seven-yard touchdown, giving the Titans a 7-3 lead with 8:47 left in the half.
George was held to 47 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
"We wanted to stop Eddie George," Dungy said. "Everybody's talking about Steve (McNair), and Steve's a great player. But Eddie George still makes them go. He had a couple of runs, but for the most part, we were able to keep them in long-yardage situations."
It did not take long for the Colts to answer as Manning moved the Colts 57 yards in four plays. He started the march by finding rookie tight end Dallas Clark for 42 yards to the Titans 15.
"It was just execution and doing our job," Clark said. "The offensive line blocked their butts off, and we were able to make some plays out there."
Three plays later, James barreled over for a two-yard touchcdown, giving the Colts a 10-7 lead. Manning came up big on the Colts' final drive of the half when he found Harrison down the right sideline for a 35-yard TD, making it 17-7 with 1:25 left before the half.
Manning was efficient, going 14-of-21 for 173 yards.
On the Titans' final drive of the half, McNair was injured after getting hit by defensive end Chad Bratzke.
Volek, who had thrown three career passes, ran the final two plays of the half and the Titans' intial series of the second half before McNair returned.
Vanderjagt provided the only points of the third quarter with a 41-yard field goal, extending the lead to 20-7.
Vaderjagt also kicked field goals of 23 and 48 yards on the Colts' first two possessions of the fourth quarter before Harper sealed the win with his interception return.
"They just played better than we did," Titans wide receiver Derrick Mason said. "Give credit to coach Dungy. They had a great game plan. They played aggressively, fast and smart."
