Marvin Harrison led the AFC with 12 touchdown receptions.

The Colts love to be explosive. They are a little like the St. Louis Rams in that they like to come out and score early. Offensive coordinator Tom Moore does a nice job of designing plays that create scoring opportunities.

Unlike most teams, which talk about establishing the run to get the play-action passing, the Colts begin using the play-action pass early in the game. Teams respect the Colts running game with Edgerrin James, so the Colts are able to play-action pass effectively. It holds the linebackers and safeties and creates voids for Marvin Harrison, their big-play receiver.

It's an interesting matchup with the Titans offense, which I feel must score points. Head coach Jeff Fisher told me this week that the Titans need to get more plays out of the passing game. Last week they threw one ball over 20 yards against the Bills. Buffalo has an outstanding defense, but the Titans can't just let the defense sit back and not defend the entire field. The Titans allowed the Bills to just defend the short game and not the entire field. When you compress the field, that makes it easier to play defense.

Tennessee should be able to take advantage of an average Colts defense. The defense has been held together by the offense, which has put them in the known situation. The Colts offense normally gets an early lead and renders the other team's offense one-dimensional. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has done a great job with his game-planning, but in terms of talent, the Colts aren't as good as their numbers have shown.

Cornelius Bennett's injury is a huge loss for them. Not only is he an emotional leader, but a veteran player who got people lined up in the right positions. The hash area will be critical for the Colts in pass coverage because tight end Frank Wycheck is the Titans' go-to receiver. Without Bennett, he presents matchup problems for the Colts.

Bert Berry gets the start in place of Bennett. Against Buffalo, the Colts linebackers looked lost without Bennett on the field. Rookie Mike Peterson has played the best of the linebacking unit, but none of the linebackers has been dominant this season.

As for the Titans defense, the rage is Jevon Kearse. And why not? The defensive end is as dominating as any player in the NFL in his rookie season. If he continues his current pace, he could end up as one of the best defensive players to ever play the game. He is just an unbelievable athlete.

The Titans do a great job of putting Kearse in position to be successful. They were effective playing the old Bears defense, or a variation of it, eight times against Buffalo because they got Kearse on the open side of the formation. Against the Bears defense, Tennessee forces man-to-man blocks for everyone up front, including Kearse, who can then take advantage of his great athleticism and skill. He is either stronger or faster than anyone trying to block him.

Here are the keys to Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game for each team:

Tennessee Titans
1. Passing production: Points come out of the passing game. The Colts should score at least 20 points against the Titans defense. If the Titans play too conservatively, they will find themselves in a tight game at the end and lose. To manufacture points, the Titans need to get the ball to their receivers. There is no doubt they are a tight-end oriented offense with Frank Wycheck, the team's leading receiver, and Jackie Harris. They love to work inside, and Eddie George has evolved into a good receiver out of the backfield. But they treat their receivers like they have the plague. Against Buffalo, Steve McNair threw to the receivers 11 times and completed only three for 23 yards. They need to take advantage of the Colts secondary. By design, if the Titans get the matchups, they can make big plays.

2. Establish Eddie: The Titans will run the ball on the Colts, and George will have a strong game. They can control the clock and the game with George and keep the Colts' explosive offense off the field. This is what the Titans like to do because they are a power-running team. They do an excellent job with their tight end-oriented offense, and have an outstanding fullback in Lorenzo Neal. Their offensive line comes off the ball well and should have the advantage against the Colts' defensive front.

3. Don't get fooled: Free safety Marcus Robinson must stay in center field, and cornerbacks Samari Rolle and Denard Walker can not get sucked in by the Colts' play-action. Peyton Manning and the Colts have huge success with the play-action passing game. They also like to establish the run with James, but the Colts' big plays and points come from their passing game. The Titans secondary must read its keys and remain disciplined or they will get burned.

Indianapolis Colts
1. Run at Kearse: After they play the Titans, most offensive coordinators feel they didn't run the ball enough at Kearse, who is probably playing at 245 pounds. Teams have to make him defend the run. Buffalo made a huge mistake last week by not pounding him early and taking some zip out of his legs. The Colts must make Kearse defend the run early, and beat on him a bit. Don't allow him to line up wide and target the quarterback. He can chase down plays from behind, but he will then be making tackles down the field instead of in the backfield. The Colts can trap him, run the shovel pass or draw plays. He can be overaggressive, so the Colts can take advantage of that.

2. James and more James: James has as much ability to put the ball in the end zone off a good run as they do off a pas play. They are not a one-dimensional team. Yes, the big plays come out of the passing game. Harrison has 20 catches this season of 25 or more yards, the most in the NFL since Jerry Rice in 1995. The Titans will focus on Harrison, but you can't pay too much attention to him because James can give the Colts the big play. James will -- and should -- get 25-30 touches in the game.

3. Line games: The Colts need to somehow jam the line of scrimmage. They can accomplish that by stunting, slanting and twisting. Their defensive line cannot stand man for man against the Titans offensive line. I think Ellis Johnson and Chad Bratzke have played well up front, but as a group the Titans can run against them. It's a risky approach and they may get gashed for big gains a few times, but they also may put the Titans in long-yardage situations. Tennessee is not effective when faced with second- or third-and-long.