“Yeah, absolutely. We needed to get off the snide and get a win and sort of get that taste out of our mouth. You need to win. Winning cures all in this league,” said Andrew Luck when asked if the team needed a win against the Bears.
Luck was the main reason the Colts were able to get off the snide this week. Luck threw for 322 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Colts went no-huddle often in the first half and it worked. We all know about the Colts slow starts as they’ve been a glaring issue for years now. They were 26th in the NFL in first half-points averaging less than nine points a game. On Sunday, they nearly doubled that scoring 16 points and getting points on ever first-half drive for the first time in more than two years.
When Luck was able to work from a clean pocket he was just about unstoppable. He completed 25 of his 32 passes for 265 yards when he wasn’t pressured. Both of his touchdown passes came from a clean pocket according to Pro Football Focus. Luck continued to be deadly when throwing deep as well. He was 10 of 14 on throws that traveled 10 or more yards.
Luck found a lot of success going to his favorite target, T.Y. Hilton. Luck targeted Hilton 11 times on Sunday. Hilton hauled in 10 catches for 171 yards and the eventual game-winning touchdown.
Colts Have Good Kickers
In case you’ve been asleep for the past years, Adam Vinatieri and Pat McAfee are awesome. Somehow Vinatieri has gotten younger instead of older. He’s the oldest player in the NFL at 43 years old and is kicking the football better than he ever has during his Hall of Fame career.
He had another perfect game as he went 5-of-5 on Sunday, including two from 50-plus yards. He’s made 38 field goals in a row, the third-longest streak in NFL history.
“It’s flying well right now,” Vinatieri says. I’d say that’s an understatement. The greatest field goal kicker ever is at his best right now. Unreal.
McAfee was great in his own way by changing the field position with some booming punts. Pat had a 74-yard punt in the fourth quarter, the longest punt of his career. His three punts went for an average of 63.3 yards and a net average of 56.7. Both of those numbers are single-game career highs for McAfee.
Frank Gore made history again on Sunday by passing Jim Brown for ninth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list. In the past two weeks Gore has passed Marcus Allen, Edgerrin James, Marshall Faulk and now, Jim Brown.
Gore had some success running the football against the Bears rushing for 75 yards on just 14 carries. It only took three carries on Sunday to pass Brown on the all-time list.
More Bad Defense
The Bears have one of the worst offenses in the NFL this year and were playing with their backup quarterback, journeyman Brian Hoyer. When a team is really struggling offensively the best medicine is to play the Indianapolis Colts.
Chicago put up 522 yards of offense against the Colts with Hoyer throwing for 397 yards, the most of his career. Hoyer only threw for 300 yards once last season, also against the Colts and he nearly threw for 400 on Sunday.
It wasn’t much better for the defense on the ground with the Bears running for 125 yards on 6.6 yards per rush. Former IU running back Jordan Howard carried the load with 118 yards on just 16 carries, 7.4 yards per carry. Howard also broke seven tackles on those 16 carries while the Colts missed 14 tackles as a team.
D’Qwell Jackson was the biggest problem on the defensive side of the ball. Jackson missed four tackles on his own. He also gave up a reception every single time he was targeted. Jackson has never been a good coverage but Sunday was a rough day for the linebacker.
First Place Showdown
Thanks to the awful AFC South the Colts play next week for a chance to be in first place in the division. The Houston Texans lost big to the Minnesota Vikings Sunday falling to 3-2.
The Colts have been bad early on but this is a wide open division right now. The Texans lost the best defensive player in football in JJ Watt and their new quarterback Brock Osweiler has really struggled so far this season.
If Indianapolis can win Sunday night in Houston they will have at least a share of the division lead with only one more road division game the very next week in Tennessee.
Injury Update
Donte Moncrief is doing better but is still week-to-week. Jon Harrison’s status is up in the air right now. Josh McNary got a stinger but should be fine. Patrick Robinson had a knee and groin injury and is day-to-day. Darius Butler fractured a finger and is having surgery, but has not been listed out this week yet.
All Quotes Courtesy of Indianapolis Colts PR Department
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