Luck thrills with skills
Stratford product’s efficient first half enough to eliminate hometown team
Andrew Luck required neither masks nor rhetoric to make his presence felt Saturday afternoon in his hometown.
A brisk, brutally efficient first half was more than sufficient for the former Stratford High School quarterback, who once again was very much at home at NRG Stadium in the Colts’ 21-7 victory over the Texans.
Luck was 19 of 32 for 222 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. He was not sacked and had 29 rushing yards on eight carries for a balanced Colts offense.
It was a day very much in keeping, Luck said, with the Colts’ comeback from a 1-5 start that has now featured 10 wins in 11 weeks.
“It’s been fun,” he said. “The message has always been ‘How are we getting better this day?’ It’s never been results-focused. We have goals, but it’s always about what are we doing to get to that goal and the cycle of the day and the week and getting the most out of each other.
“It’s been fulfilling because we’ve kept getting better and better and better, and it’s been very energizing.”
Against the Texans, Luck was at his best in the first half as Indianapolis built a 21-0 halftime lead, completing 16 of 22 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception on a ball that was tipped by J.J. Watt and picked off by Brandon Dunn.
“There were some really effective runs early in the game and to finish the game,” Luck said. “It’s not easy to run the ball on that (Texans) defense. It’s a really good defense with a lot of good players, and we made the plays.”
Luck was 8 of 10 for 101 yards in the first quarter as the Colts mounted scoring drives of 75 and 74 yards, aided in large part by a ground game that gained 54 yards in the quarter and 200 for the game.
The Colts’ flexibility was never more evident than on their first two scoring drives. Indianapolis threw the ball on seven of nine plays on their first drive. Wide receiver T.Y. Hilton caught three passes for 63 yards, including two thirddown catches, and tight end Eric Ebron caught a 6-yard pass for the touchdown.
It was a normal performance, especially against the Texans, by Hilton — certainly more expected than the jolt Luck received when he saw Hilton wearing a clown mask into the stadium in response to pregame comments by Johnathan Joseph.
“I looked back (at Hilton while entering the stadium) and said, ‘Oh, (bleep),’ ” Luck said. “But T.Y. is awesome. He knows how to have fun and still prepare like a pro. He’s diligent. He’s a professional. He brings great energy to our locker room. I’m honored to play with him.”
After the Colts’ defense forced a punt, the Colts turned to the ground game on their second possession, running on seven of nine plays and making it 14-0 on Marlon Mack’s 2-yard run.
“We’re balanced, man,” Mack said. “That’s what (coach Frank Reich) wanted us to do this week. Things were just clicking. We ran the ball OK early, and Andrew threw that thing well.”
In the second quarter, Luck kept another drive alive with a thirddown completion to Hilton and had completions of 15 yards to Ebron and 21 and 18 yards to Dontrelle Inman for the touchdown that made it 21-0.
That was mostly it in terms of production. Luck was just 3 of 10 for 31 yards in the second half, but the Colts managed two moderate drives in the fourth quarter to keep the Texans at bay after Houston closed to within 21-7.
When the Colts were at their best with a balanced attack, Luck said, “we can throw it a bunch, we can huddle up, we can go up tempo, we can slow down the tempo, we can run it.”
“The second half was tough for us, so we have to learn how to get out a little quicker (in the second half ).”
That chance will come next week against the Chiefs when Luck faces another former Texas high school quarterback in Patrick Mahomes of Whitehouse.
It’s another step, Luck said, the mantra of consistent improvement that Reich has preached all season.
“Slowly but surely, guys just believed,” he said. “You start to believe in yourself, which is step one, and then you believe in each other. … Its very fulfilling to share the field with these gentlemen.”
He’s not yet prepared, however, to declare NRG Stadium his home away from home.
“You’re a little more familiar with your division stadiums,” he said. “I remember coming to games here as a kid — a lot of them — and played in a high school game. But it’s still an away stadium.
“It was loud. It was energetic. Fun to win, certainly.”