Colts, Titans both roll in shutout victories

Marlon Mack rushed for a career-high 139 yards and two scores and the host Indianapolis Colts defense shut out one of the league’s hottest offenses, rolling to a 23-0 victory Sunday.

The Colts (8-6) stayed in the AFC playoff hunt with their seventh win in eight games and their first shutout since a 27-0 victory over Cincinnati on Oct. 19, 2014.

Dallas (8-6) failed to clinch the NFC East as its five-game winning streak ended.

But Mack starred in Sunday’s big show.

He set the tone by running through a tackle for a 19-yard gain on his first carry, wound up carrying 22 times and matching a career high with the two scoring runs — all against the league’s No. 3 rushing defense.

It marked the first time since Week 9 that Dallas allowed a team to top the 100-yard mark, and the Cowboys were shutout for the first time in more than 15 years. New England was the previous team to achieve the feat with a 12-0 victory on Nov. 16, 2003.

Mack even outperformed Ezekiel Elliott, who came into the weekend as the NFL’s leading rusher. Elliott had 18 carries for 87 yards and caught seven passes for 41 yards.

But every time the Cowboys got near scoring position, Indy’s defense stymied them.

Denico Autry blocked a 44-yard field-goal attempt on Dallas’ first possession, Elliott lost 2 yards and fumbled on fourth-and-1 from the Colts 3 on their next possession and the Cowboys were knocked out of field-goal range on Tyquan Lewis’ sack on the Cowboys’ final chance in the first half.

It was more of the same in the second half.

Pierre Desir broke up a third-down pass to force a punt, Darius Leonard broke up another pass on fourth-and-1 from the Colts 39 to start the fourth quarter and George Odum capped the day with an interception deep in Colts’ territory on fourth down in the waning minutes.

Titans 17, Giants 0: Bruising halfback Derrick Henry had his second straight big game with a career-high 33 carries for 170 yards rushing and two touchdowns. The visiting Tennessee Titans kept their late-season playoff push alive and ended the New York Giants’ postseason hopes.

Henry, who had a franchise-record 238 yards and

Afour touchdowns in a win over Jacksonville on Dec. 6, scored on 1-yard runs in the first and third quarters.

That was all the Titans’ defense needed on a wet and rainy day at MetLife Stadium as it shut down Saquon Barkley (31 yards on 14 carries) in helping Tennessee win its third straight game, matching its season high.

The defense limited New York to 260 yards, had three sacks, a third-quarter interception that stopped a New York drive inside the red zone with the score 7-0, and a forced fumble that set up Henry’s second TD.

The shutout was the Titans’ first since a 31-0 win over the Cowboys on Christmas Day in 2000. It needed a late stand to make it happen.

It was the first time New York was blanked since Arizona posted a 23-0 win last Dec. 24.