NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Indianapolis Colts know they have to stop falling behind early.

It’s just a hard habit to break when they keep rallying for victories.

The Colts trailed 14-0 before Andrew Luck and the offense scored 20 straight points and turned a 17-6 halftime deficit into a 30-27 win over the Tennessee Titans on Thursday night.

“That’s how we make our living,” Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. “It caught up with us two games ago. We have got to try to make things a little easier on ourselves.”

The Colts (7-3) have been outscored 35-0 in the first quarter in their past three games — two of them victories. They also have trailed in six games after the first quarter this season.

“There is no panic,” Colts safety Antoine Bethea said. “We always talk about it’s going to come down to the last 2 minutes of the game, and this year that is what it has been.”

Indianapolis is in firm control of the AFC South having beaten all three division opponents on the road this season. The Colts have beaten the Titans four straight and nine of the last 10.

The Titans (4-6) know only too well about the final 2 minutes. They scored late for a second straight game and couldn’t recover an onside kick. Now Tennessee has lost five of six, and the Titans will play four of their final six on the road.

“We knew the Colts were a good second-half team, and we didn’t finish the game out,” Titans defensive end Derrick Morgan said. “We are losing close games that we think that we should have won. We haven’t been finishing games. We are who we are.”

Here are five things to know about the Colts taking control of the AFC South against the Titans:

The Colts have been struggling to protect Luck and open holes in the run game. Indianapolis had just 14 yards in last week’s embarrassing 38-8 loss to St. Louis. But the Titans sacked Luck only once, and Donald Brown ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including the clincher with 3:01 left. The Colts ran 10 times on an 11-play drive before Brown scored.

“They had a point to prove,” Pagano said.

Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri isn’t slowing down with age. Vinatieri, who will turn 41 on Dec. 28, made all three of his field-goal attempts and improved to 20 of 23 this season. His field goals Thursday included a 48-yarder and a 50-yarder. He has made each of his last four attempts from at least 50 yards out.