Andrew Luck looked like he might have ripped out the Detroit Lions’ heart with a go-ahead touchdown late in Sunday’s season opener.
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Luck has all the tools to prove a year ago was an aberration, and that’s still the smartest bet, but an opening month that in any way resembles 2015 will leave the Colts floundering in an improving division, and perhaps even find Jim Irsay taking a glance at the Browns’ score to see how RGIII is doing.
But it doesn’t erase any of the bad plays the Lions made – majority by a defense that gave up 32 points in the last 31 minutes, 37 seconds.
Question: How much was the outcome redemption for Matt Prater, who had missed an extra point that could have cost the Lions the game, and what did the outcome mean to the team? How efficient is a healthy Andrew Luck? It lived up to the hype and neither QB disappointed.
The Lions went three-and-out on their next possession, then mounted back-to-back scoring drives. So, let’s go back and re-examine this barnburner.
The Indianapolis Colts host the Detroit Lions in Week 1 of the National Football League schedule on Sunday, start time at 4:25 PM ET, at Lucas Stadium, Indianapolis Indiana. DeAndre Levy and Darius Slay each made nice plays to force a second Colts punt. Complementary football so far. Indianapolis continued to be stagnant on offense until the Lions went up 21-3, and that’s when the offense began to click under Luck’s arm. Riddick had that same over-the-middle route for a near TD catch. They must have strong play from right guard Denzelle Good and center Ryan Kelly. We had enough timeouts left to get into field goal range. Eleven first responders will run onto the field during player introductions, and another 200 will hold an American flag that stretches the length of the field as Indianapolis police officer Christopher Wilburn sings the national anthem.
The Colts pulled to within 14-3 with 4:50 left in the half on Vinatieri’s 50-yard field goal. However, the Lions probably aren’t going to pound teams on the ground, which makes each running back a risky play.
LUCK IS BACK: Don’t just look at his stat line. The Colts got the ball with 2:20 left in the 3rd.
The Colts haven’t opened at home since 2013, and they have trips to Denver and London in the first four weeks. That seven-play drive covered 71 yards. Now back to full health again, the hope is that he can make it back to superstar form.
It wasn’t a pretty preseason for the Detroit offense, as the first team only managed three field goals and a red zone turnover.
This time past year the Indianapolis Colts were about to kickoff the season against the Buffalo Bills. He quickly got the Lions into position for Prater to atone for the earlier miss. There’s no reason the Lions shouldn’t win this game, no reason at all. Still, he was explosive in the beginning and crucial on the final few drives. Marvin Jones led the way with 85 yards on four catches, while Theo Riddick added 63 yards on five catches and Ameer Abdullah had 57 yards on five catches. Riddick earned his new extension and then some in the opener. Luck won only two of seven games played in 2015. This was a case of whoever has the ball last wins. The defense blamed itself for the failure to finish the game.
Sunday’s game was Andrew Luck’s first official game since last November, and he passed the test with flying colors – responding with one of the best games of his career. Matthew Stafford finished his day with 340 passing yards and three touchdowns.
That was the start of a wild final quarter.
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