Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts moved to 5-3 on the season
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
The Indianapolis Colts sure are making a habit of winning the close ones.
Behind a sterling performance from rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts moved to 5-3 on the season with a 23-20 victory Sunday over the Miami Dolphins – their third win in a row by a score or less.
“Obviously it was a very joyous locker room,” Colts interim coach Bruce Arians said. “That was a big win for us.”
Luck had a stat line was his most impressive to date: 30-for-48 for 433 yards and two touchdowns for the Colts. It was the most yards ever thrown by a rookie quarterback in a single game, breaking the mark set by Carolina’s Cam Newton last season.
Sunday also marked the fourth time this season Luck has eclipsed 300 yards passing for a game,with the Colts, tying him with Peyton Manning for the NFL rookie record.
Test of Luck: Compare Andrew Luck with other notable quarterbacks through 8 career games.
Luck, and the Colts team, which went 13-for-18 on third down, got their biggest play of the game late in the third quarter. Rookie wideout T.Y. Hilton, double-covered by a pair of Dolphins’ defensive backs, simply went up and grabbed a 36-yard bomb from Luck in the Miami endzone. It gave the Colts a 20-17 lead heading into the final period.
Miami’s Ryan Tannehill, another first-year signal-caller, was nearly as impressive as Colts QB, Luck. He finished 22-for-38 for 290 yards and one touchdown.
The rookie quarterbacks put on quite a duel in the first half, Luck and Tannehill combined to go 29-for-42 for 431 yards and two touchdowns.
The byproduct was 30 total points in the first 30 minutes The Luck, and the Colts supplanted three Vinatieri field goals with the nine-yard touchdown from Luck to Reggie Wayne, the Colts all-pro wideout, late in the first quarter.
Miami scored twice in the second quarter, getting touchdowns off an 18-yard catch-and-run from Charles Clay and an 18-yard burst from Reggie Bush.
The Indianapolis Colts travels to Jacksonville on Thursday for a AFC South clash where Luck will lead the Colts in battle with the Jaguars.
That, to go along with a 9-yard touchdown from Luck to Wayne in the first quarter and three Adam Vinatieri field goals for the Colts, was enough to deliver Indianapolis its third win in four games since head coach Chuck Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia in early October. The Colts are now 3-2 this season when trailing at halftime, behind Luck.
Pagano, still undergoing treatment, attended the game Sunday and spoke to the Colts both prior and after the game.
“I got circumstances,” Pagano told the team after the win. “You guys understand that. I understand that.
“It’s already beat. My vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters get married, dance at their weddings and hoist that Lombardi (Trophy) several times. Congratulations. I love all of you.”