INDIANAPOLIS -- Colts quarterback Andrew Luck doesn't need to be told what his career record is against the Tennessee Titans. He already knows he has been perfect against them.
Nine starts. Nine victories.
A home victory against the Titans (5-4) on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) will not only extend Luck's streak against his AFC South counterpart, it will give the Colts (4-5) the tiebreaker against Tennessee and help them in the playoff race.
"He's a baller man," Titans defensive lineman Jurrell Casey said about Luck. "I have been playing that guy since college. I like to talk mess, but he beat me two times in college and I haven't beat him here. Excellent player. He's not going to give up no matter what the score or situation is in the game. He's going to continue to fight. That's something you have to love in a player like him. That's something we have to key on and make sure we have our 'A' game."
Luck's success against the Titans -- he was injured in both losses to them last season -- is not the only streak at stake for the Colts on Sunday. They are on a three-game winning streak, and Luck has dropped back 185 straight times without being sacked.
All those streaks will be tested against a Tennessee team that has won two straight, including a convincing 34-10 victory against the New England Patriots last weekend. A win by the Colts would even their record at 5-5 after starting the season 1-5. The Colts haven't won four straight since the end of the 2014 season.
"We really are locking in one week at a time," Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said. "Digging ourselves out of this hole one week at a time. This game is probably the game where now our eyes are out of the hole. We get it together and win this game and then maybe have vision on some things. This is a very important week."
There are five teams within one game of each other in the battle for the AFC's final playoff spot.
Cincinnati (5-4), which beat Indianapolis in Week 1, currently holds that No. 6 playoff position, but the Bengals have lost three of their past four and fired their defensive coordinator this week. Baltimore (4-5) is on a three-game losing skid and might not have starting quarterback Joe Flacco (hip) for Sunday's game against the Bengals. The Dolphins (5-5) have struggled since a 3-0 start.
The Titans, like the Colts, were in a downward spiral last month, having lost three in a row before going on the road to beat Dallas and then holding the Patriots to just 10 points last weekend.
"Honestly, I don't really think we're thinking anything about standings," Luck said. "We understand it's a division game; we understand that they're important. It's at home. But I haven't had anybody in this locker room talk about standings or where any other team is."
The Titans, according to ESPN Stats & Information, are just one of two teams yet to allow a touchdown pass to a tight end this season. And they've allowed a league-low 295 passing yards to tight ends this season. Luck has thrown 15 touchdown passes to his tight ends, and the group has combined for 844 yards receiving.
Reich noted that quarterbacks have the lowest rating in the league against Tennessee's blitz this season. That means they'll challenge a Colts offensive line that has finally found continuity by starting the same group for four straight games.
"That will be good on good," Reich said. "We've been pretty good in that area. We're the best in that area, so it'll be a good challenge."
Luck hasn't been sacked since his first pass attempt against New England in Week 5, and he has been hit only nine times over the past four games. He only has been pressured on 23.7 percent of his pass attempts this season.
"They are really protecting him," Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. "He never stares at a rusher. Ever. His eyes are down field. Some of those where he used to scramble, he's stepping up and still looking for guys. He's extending plays, but extending them to throw. And after all that stuff, he's never lost to the Titans. Hopefully, we're very aware of the success that he's had against this organization."