Andrew Luck’s Heroics Not Enough to Overcome Inept Colts Defense

Heading into the 2016 season, fans of the Indianapolis Colts breathlessly awaited the return of a healthy Andrew Luck. With their quarterback back in the fold, the belief was that the Colts would quickly regain their perch atop the AFC South.

Sure enough, Luck was back on the field Sunday afternoon against the Detroit Lions. And No. 12 was in All-Pro form, having his way with a besieged Lions secondary.

And yet, when the dust had settled at Lucas Oil Stadium after one of Week 1’s wildest games, Luck and the Colts found themselves on the short end of a 39-35 shootout.

With that Week 1 loss came a sobering realization for the 2016 Colts. It may not matter how good Andrew Luck is. How many yards he passes for. How many touchdowns he throws.

Because Luck can’t do it all himself…and he isn’t getting much help.

There’s plenty of blame to be passed around for the Colts falling into a 21-3 hole and then coming up just short in a frenetic comeback bid—and very little of it falls on the team’s young quarterback.

Luck was masterful in his first start since last November 8. He completed 31 of 47 pass attempts for 385 yards and four touchdowns without an interception. He hit eight different receivers during the game and posted a passer rating of almost 120.

Before the game, running back Frank Gore told ESPN.com’s Mike Wells he was looking forward to watching Luck make his doubters eat their words.

“Can’t wait for the first game for him to start to prove a lot of people wrong, even though I know he probably doesn’t listen to it, but we’re all human,” Gore said. “We hear things they say. He’s happy to be back and ready to go.”

After the game, as Zak Keefer of the Indianapolis Star tweeted, Gore was a bit more…explicit:

Frank Gore on Andrew Luck today: “He was m— f—- beast out …

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