Bill Waugh / AP

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) ends up under the legs of Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth after Manning threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dallas Clark in the first quarter of an NFL football game in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, Oct. 27, 2008.

Which is what the Titans have been doing all year.

“We’re still the underdog no matter who we play,” said Tennessee defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. “People were thinking that if we lost this game we weren’t for real. This team is for real.”

Haynesworth reveled in Manning’s misery.

“(After the Colts failed to convert the second fourth down) Peyton had his hands on his helmet saying, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe we missed that and all that stuff. We want to frustrate him as much as possible. We love seeing that.”

It’s worth noting that, while the Colts haven’t been backed into a corner this early in quite some time, they have been down before. In 2006, their run defense was a laughingstock and their playoff chances were doomed because of it. They tightened up, got safety Bob Sanders back (neither Sanders nor running back Joseph Addai played last night) and won a Super Bowl.

“We’ve got a lot of guys that have been there,” said Dungy. “We understand where we are right now. Four losses. We’re not going to be able to afford to lose too many more. You have to start playing well consistently for four quarters week after week after week.”

And Haynesworth, for one, isn’t betting on Indy folding up.

“They still have Peyton Manning as their quarterback,” he pointed out. “They’re still a great team. They’re a little off right now. But what have they lost four games? They can still go 11-5.”

Why not 12-4?

”Because they still have to play us again,” he noted.

Torch passing indeed.

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Evan Agostini / AP

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