INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee Titans defensive end Oluwafemi Oladejo hadn’t scored a touchdown since his junior season at Cosumnes Oaks High School in his home of California.
Seven years later, Oladejo assumed he finally had scored another one after returning a blocked punt 14 yards to the end zone in the Titans’ 26-20 comeback win over the Indianapolis Colts on Oct. 18.
His TD stood, but Oladejo thought it was getting called back when he saw officials throw a flag. The penalty was actually on the Tennessee sideline, which was celebrating a 20-13 lead after trailing 13-0 at halftime.
“I mean, rushed the punter, I saw somebody block it. I saw the ball come loose in the middle of the field, picked it up and got into the end zone,” Oladejo said. “It’s the best feeling. Great feeling.”
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It was arguably the biggest play on a day the Titans (1-5, 1-1 AFC South) and quarterback Cam Ward still struggled to move the ball. Tennessee ended up with 186 yards of offense and just 11 first downs compared to the Colts' 14 first downs.
Tennessee snapped a seven-game losing streak dating back to last season, an 11-game division losing streak and a six-game losing streak to the Colts (2-4, 1-2).
Tennessee’s Julius Chestnut blocked his man into Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez and got a hand on the ball. Titans linebacker James Williams Sr. was in the vicinity as well, saying afterward he called for the block and “kind of figured we’d get it.”
“I watch film a lot. That’s all I do. I had my eye on the snapper all day,” Williams said.
Titans coach Robert Saleh said he “almost blew a gasket” after defensive end Truman Jones’ penalty for running into the kicker extended an Indianapolis drive earlier in the game.
“Special teams made up for it,” Saleh said. “They’ve been working on it, man. They’ve been close. To get one to change the game was pretty cool.”
Oladejo came into the game with six tackles.
"(Titans defensive line coach Aaron) Whitecotton has been challenging the hell out of Femi, and Femi never backs down from it," Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons said. "Femi attacks every day. You can tell he wants to get better ... When he's out there, you can just see it."
Tyler Palmateer covers the Tennessee Titans for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.com and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Unpacking Tennessee Titans punt block for TD that keyed win over Colts