Luck & Co. seek quick rebound

After loss to Jaguars, Indy’s playoff hopes hanging by a thread

INDIANAPOLIS — Andrew Luck accepted the blame for Sunday’s shutout.

By Monday, he and the Indianapolis Colts were already talking about the Texans.

It’s the same routine coach Frank Reich follows each week — make quick corrections, carefully game plan for the next opponent and don’t overthink what went wrong.

Naturally, one subpar game won’t get Reich to change his strategy even with playoff aspirations at stake.

“Offensively, we just didn’t execute at the (needed) level, and that ultimately falls on me,” Reich said during his weekly conference call. “It’s my job to put the players in the best position, and we didn’t get that done yesterday. It hurts but hey we are shifting, we are moving gears to Houston.”

There were plenty of mistakes to correct Monday.

After throwing at least three touchdown passes in eight straight games, Luck couldn’t get the Colts (6-6) into the end zone even once at Jacksonville in the 6-0 loss. His timing and improved accuracy were off, leading to the first shutout of Luck’s pro career.

Indy’s ground game wasn’t effective either and what had been an effective offensive line during the previous six games allowed three sacks and many more pressures Sunday without its starting center. Ryan Kelly missed his second straight game with an injured left knee.

Reich did some self-critiquing, too.

Three times with Indy in position to kick field goals, he went for it on fourth down. All three plays came up short.

“They outcoached me on that. They played a coverage they had not played in that situation. It was the answer in case they did that, and we were just a little off in our execution,” Reich said, referring to the play on fourth-and-goal.

Those failures were compounded by a lack of potent plays, something that became a staple during the Colts’ five-game winning streak.

But for everyone inside the locker room, it was a stark reminder of just how quickly results change in the NFL.

Over those previous five games, which included two against top-six scoring defenses, Indy averaged 34.6 points as Luck played at a high level.

That wasn’t the case Sunday.

“I didn’t hold up my end of the bargain,” Luck said following the loss. “(We’ve) got to improve.”

This week, the Colts will face the league’s hottest team. The Texans have won nine straight since starting 0-3.

Houston’s defense is every bit as stingy and resourceful as what the Colts dealt with against the Jaguars. And yet Indy needs Luck & Co. to trade punches against a more proficient offense by fixing its flaws.

But Reich refuses to let his team make the mistake of spending too much time breaking down Sunday’s miscues at the expense of trying to rebound this week and reassert themselves in the AFC’s tight chase for the sixth and final playoff berth.

“What matters tomorrow is get better tomorrow,” Reich said. “Get better every day and then get ready to play the Houston Texans on Sunday.”