NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans wide receiver Corey Davis played with a heavy heart in Thursday night's 34-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, as his older brother Titus died from a rare form of cancer Wednesday.
Davis, who had tears flowing down his face during the national anthem, finished the game with five receptions for 67 yards.
"It was heavy on my mind, every play," Davis said after the game. "But I just kept thinking this is what he wanted me to do. He wouldn't want me to be sad and sulk and feel sorry for myself. I obviously miss him and wish he was here, but I know he's in a better place and that he was with me today.
"It's definitely tough. As he was laying there, all he kept telling my sister was to tell me to play, regardless of what happens. He just kept telling me to play, telling me to play throughout the whole process."
Titans coach Mike Vrabel said he was proud of Davis for finding a way to play and was proud of how the team supported him.
"He's so close to his brother, and his brother meant so much to him, so I can't even imagine what he's going through right now emotionally," Ryan Tannehill said after the game.
Titus Davis, who was 27, was a standout wide receiver for Central Michigan from 2011 to 2014, with his 3,700 yards and 37 touchdowns breaking school records that were previously held by Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown.
He signed with the Chargers as an undrafted free agent in 2015 and spent time with the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Chicago Bears, who released him in 2017.
Corey Davis played for Central Michigan's rival, Western Michigan, from 2013 to 2016 before being the No. 5 pick by the Titans in the 2017 draft. The Davis brothers faced off in the rivalry game in 2013 and 2014.
"Since I was a little kid, I was always chasing after him and trying to be like him," Corey Davis said. "I wore his number every year to copy him. He thought it was annoying, but I looked up to him tremendously. That was my idol, my hero. I tried to honor him tonight."