The Titans finally start AFC South portion of schedule hosting banged-up Colts

Indianapolis (2-3) at Tennessee (1-3)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT, CBS.

BetMGM NFL Odds: Titans by 2 1/2.

Against the spread: Colts 4-1; Titans 1-3.

Last meeting: The Colts beat the Titans 31-28 in OT on Dec. 3, 2023, at Nashville.

Last week: Colts lost 37-34 at Jacksonville; Titans had bye after beating Miami 31-12 on Sept. 30.

Colts offense: overall (13), rush (12), pass (12), scoring (13).

Colts defense: overall (32), rush (31), pass (29), scoring (25).

Titans offense: overall (30), rush (18), pass (29), scoring (20).

Titans defense: overall (1), rush (15), pass (1), scoring (15).

Turnover differential: Colts plus-1; Titans minus-7

Alec Pierce. The third-year receiver has provided Indy with the big-play threat it's lacked in recent seasons. He leads the NFL at 28.3 yards per catch, already has established a new single-season career high with three TD catches and last week he almost single-handedly brought the Colts back at Jacksonville with three straight catches for a career-best 134 yards. He's looking for a strong encore this week.

QB Will Levis. He and Anthony Richardson both were drafted in 2023, and Levis has started more games than the fourth overall pick out of Florida. But both are tied with six interceptions this season — most in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes has been picked off six times, but the Chiefs have played five games. Levis has finished only three of his four starts this season after hurting his throwing shoulder trying to run for a first down against Miami.

Colts QB Anthony Richardson (hip) and Pro Bowl C Ryan Kelly (neck) both practiced. The NFL's 2021 rushing champ Jonathan Taylor (ankle) didn't in a similar scenario to last week when all three sat out. The Colts also must decide on starting DE Kwity Paye (quadricep) and Pro Bowl CB Kenny Moore II (hip), who also sat out last week. If Richardson misses another game, Joe Flacco will make his second straight start. If Kelly is out, the Colts may starting two rookies — center Tanor Bortolini and right guard Dalton Tucker — with Will Fries on injured reserve following surgery on his injured lower right leg. WR Michael Pittman Jr. has a back injury that may force the Colts to put him on injured reserve. ... Titans QB Will Levis will start after working his way back from an injury to his throwing shoulder that knocked him out of their previous game. ... Two-time Pro Bowl DL Jeffery Simmons said he'll be back after two weeks because of an injury to his left elbow. The Titans, who declared S Jamal Adams out for this game with an injured hip, put the three-time Pro Bowler on reserve with a non-football injury Saturday. DL Keondre Coburn (knee) will not play.

Indy swept the Titans last season after losing the previous five in the series. ... Indy is 15-7 on the road against the Titans since they relocated to Nashville. ... The teams have only met once in the postseason with Tennessee handing Peyton Manning a 19-16 loss in his first playoff game in Indy. ... The Colts and Titans only met six times when the franchises were located in Baltimore and Houston and eight times when Houston squared off with Indianapolis. They became division rivals in 2002.

The Colts are 0-2 in division play this season, have lost three straight AFC South games and are 4-9-1 against division foes since 2021. They trail defending division champ Houston by two games. ... This is the Titans' AFC South opener. ... Indy ranks third in the NFL with 24 plays of 20 or more yards this season. It also has scored 20 or more points in 17 of the past 21 games. ... With Richardson out last week, Flacco made his starting debut with the Colts. Richardson is 4-4 as a starter. The 39-year-old Flacco is 103-85. ... With 78 scrimmage yards, Taylor would pass Moore (6,040) for No. 4 for a Colts player in their first five seasons. ... LB E.J. Speed had his eight-game streak with 10 or more tackles end last week in Jacksonville. It was the league's longest streak since 1987. ... Speed is tied for the NFL lead with 54 tackles. Colts CB Nick Cross is tied for third in tackles (52). ... Indy is tied for eighth with eight takeaways. It also has allowed the fourth-fewest points after a turnover this season (six). ... The Titans have won the game coming off their bye each of the past eight seasons. Only Buffalo (nine) has a longer active streak, which is second to Philadelphia's streak of 13 consecutive such wins between 1999 and 2011. ... The Titans have allowed a league-low 243.8 yards per game and also lead the NFL in passing defense giving up just 124 yards per game. They held Miami to 184 yards before their bye. ... The Titans have used the same starting offensive line for the first four games, matching the most games Tennessee used any of 11 different starting combinations in 2023. ... K Nick Folk made five field goals, including three at least 50 yards, in the Titans' first win of the season.

Titans RB Tony Pollard is coming off a season-high 108 yards from scrimmage. He is even better after contact at picking up yards and going up against a banged-up Colts defense that is among the worst in the NFL at stopping the run.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco (15) fumbles as he is hit by Jacksonville Jaguars' Travon Walker (44) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Tennessee Titans place kicker Nick Folk (6) kicks the extra point during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tennessee Titans running back Tyjae Spears (2), right, celebrates his touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Joe Flacco throws during the second half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) warms up before an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Brennan Asplen)

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson, right, watches during the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Saturday drew a direct link between immigration and an attack in Germany where a man drove into a Christmas market teeming with holiday shoppers, killing at least five people and injuring 200 others.

During a rare appearance before independent media in Budapest, Orbán expressed his sympathy to the families of the victims of what he called the “terrorist act” on Friday night in the city of Magdeburg. But the long-serving Hungarian leader, one of the European Union's most vocal critics, also implied that the 27-nation bloc's migration policies were to blame.

German authorities said the suspect, a 50-year-old Saudi doctor, is under investigation. He has lived in Germany since 2006, practicing medicine. Describing himself as a former Muslim, the suspect shared dozens of tweets and retweets daily focusing on anti-Islam themes, criticizing the religion and congratulating Muslims who left the faith.

Orbán claimed without evidence that such attacks only began to occur in Europe after 2015, when hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees entered the EU after largely fleeing war and violence in the Middle East and Africa.

Europe has in fact seen numerous militant attacks going back decades including train bombings in Madrid, Spain, in 2004 and attacks on central London in 2005.

Still, the nationalist leader declared that “there is no doubt that there is a link” between migration and terrorism, and claimed that the EU leadership "wants Magdeburg to happen to Hungary too.”

Orbán's anti-immigrant government has taken a hard line on people entering Hungary since 2015, and has built fences protected by razor wire on Hungary's southern borders with Serbia and Croatia.

In June, the European Court of Justice ordered Hungary to pay a fine of 200 million euros ($216 million) for persistently breaking the bloc’s asylum rules, and an additional 1 million euros per day until it brings its policies into line with EU law.

Orbán, a right-wing populist who is consistently at odds with the EU, has earlier vowed that Hungary would not change its migration and asylum policies regardless of any rulings from the EU's top court.

On Saturday, he promised that his government will fight back against what he called EU efforts to “impose” immigration policies on Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during his annual international press conference in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)