Lucky Charm

By: Peyton Schultze

Andrew Luck and the Colts are the NFL’s hottest team entering the Divisional Round. Can they upset some top seeds and get to Super Bowl LIII?

It’s Week 6. The mood in Indianapolis is not bright, as the Colts had just improbably lost to the lowlife New York Jets and their season looked all but over. Rookie quarterback, Sam Darnold, had just shredded the Colts’ defense throughout the ballgame and made Indianapolis look like a team that would find itself at the bottom of the NFL’s cellar for the rest of the season if their fortunes did not soon turn around. With their record now 1-5 and with the rest of the AFC South looking strong, the Colts seemed as if their once-promising season with the return of Andrew Luck had slipped from their hands so early on. Although the Colts would eventually cruise over the terrible Buffalo Bills and bottom-feeding Oakland Raiders in the next two weeks, Indy would head into their Week 9 bye just 3-5 and looking closer to the #1 overall pick in next year’s draft than a legit contender in the AFC.

Fast forward to now and it’s hard to believe that this Colts team was actually in that position just several weeks ago. With their backs against the wall and a huge mesh of teams above them in the standings, Indianapolis was forced to have to play their best football down the stretch if they somehow wanted to sneak into the playoffs. Did they ever. Currently on 5 game winning streak and having won 10 of their last 11, Indianapolis enters the AFC’s Divisional Round as the single hottest team in postseason play at the moment. Led by a 2nd-year running back out of the University of South Florida in Marlon Mack and a defense that is getting better and better by the week (1st in scoring defense since Week 7), Indianapolis found a way to get hot at the right time and reel off some huge wins, including a do-or-die game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17 and a Wild Card Weekend win over the favored Houston Texans. The Colts are dangerous, and only getting better by the week, which has to strike fear into the remaining teams left in the wacky 2019 Playoff Picture. But other than their resurgent running game and improving defense, why else do the Colts seem like a team that can go anywhere and beat anyone? Well, you just have to go back to January 19th of 2017 to find out.

Luck was forced to miss all of the 2017 regular season after an offseason surgery to repair damage in his throwing shoulder.

Poorly is one word to describe how the Indianapolis Colts handled the situation involving an injury to Andrew Luck’s throwing shoulder. Going back to the 2015 season, Luck was diagnosed with two key injuries that affected his play and hurt the Colts season: a lacerated kidney and a sprained shoulder. While the kidney injury took him out of the lineup for the rest of the season, Luck’s shoulder injury was just the beginning of a long process. Although his shoulder did not cause him to miss more than two games over that season, the injury lingered for almost two years before he finally opted for surgery on the fateful day of January 19th, 2017. While the surgery did not go smoothly and Luck did not even start practicing until midway through the 2017 season, the Colts originally had hope that he might return at some point. Yet eventually, the Colts placed the injured star quarterback on season-ending IR and then sent him to a team doctor who told Luck to not throw a football for 2-3 months to focus purely on rehab. With his 2018 season now in serious doubt, many members of the media started to even question if Luck’s career would ever be the same. Some even questioned if Luck would return at all. Yet on June 12th of 2018, Luck finally began to participate in throwing activities with the team and began his route towards a regular season return. With Luck even reporting to training camp on time but with precautions that limited his throwing, the Colts’ QB still had a chance of playing. However, he did not solidify his health or his well-being until finally appearing in one of the Colts’ preseason game against Seattle. Completing 6 of 9 yards for 64 yards and even taking one big hit, Luck proved the doubters wrong and looked like he was on track to start the regular season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Yet even upon Luck’s return, people had their doubts. Many said that Luck could no longer be one of the top starting options in the league and that he would resort to being a “Charlie Checkdown” type of quarterback. While the beginning of his season started shaky and took some time to shake off rust, what would eventually unfold was something straight out of a Hollywood film script. After their 1-5 start and his subpar play according to his previous standards, Luck would throw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns en route to the Colts’ wild card berth and return to the postseason for the first time since 2014. Now, the Colts looked primed to make a deep postseason run, led by their MVP candidate in Luck, and hope to possibly make a return to the Super Bowl in what many thought would be a rebuilding year for the franchise.

Indianapolis was able to steamroll the Houston Texans last week in a 21-7 victory in the Wild Card Round.

While Luck’s comeback story has been unreal, the re-haul of the organization as a whole is what has really make the Colts the team they are right now. After firing past general manager, Ryan Grigson, in favor of their new one, Chris Ballard, the Colts now have a completely new identity. Previously, for years, the organization made curious choices on personnel that had prohibited them from growing into a true contender in the past. Colt teams of the past 10 years have often been labeled as soft, hesitant, and a team that plays down to their opponents. Now, however, the teams is tough, resilient, and among the league best right now. One huge example of this fresh, new approach was exemplified in the Colts’ 2018 NFL Draft. After taking a guard out of Notre Dame, Quenton Nelson, with the 6th pick in the draft, it was hard for fans of the team to have much hope. A guard, really? Yet Nelson, one of the most elite offensive line prospects of the past decade, has brought exactly what the Colts needed. Not only does he possess a toughness and motor that was missing from the Colts for years, but his All-Pro skills have completely transformed the Colts’ O Line from a liability to one of the best units in the league. With Ballard making sure that keeping Luck protected in the pocket was the organization’s top priority, it has made the former Pro Bowl quarterback’s return even smoother. Not only has he taken a substantially less amount of hits, but Luck has had more time to throw in the pocket, which has helped him regain his in-game arm strength and read the defense much more simply, which has created big plays down the field more and more over the course of the season. Throw in the always consistent TY Hilton and one of the signings of the offseason in tight end, Eric Ebron, and the Colts have formed a very competitive offense that has eased the pressure off of Luck in his comeback season.

The Colts have had a lot to celebrate lately during their 5 game winning streak.

Yet one of the men that has not gained much attention has been new head coach, Frank Reich. Formerly known as Jim Kelly’s career backup in Buffalo during his playing career before becoming the offensive coordinator as a coach for the 2018 Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, Reich has not only helped transform the Colts’ offense, but the team as a whole. Connecting particularly with Luck has been key during his head coaching debut season, as the two have combined to create a strong player/coach duo. Reich’s offensive smarts are a given, but it takes a special type of coach to be able to carry a previously 1-5 team on a huge winning streak and lead them into the playoffs. This type of coaching has even spread to the defensive side of the ball where defensive coordinator, Matt Eberflus, is leading one of the young and upcoming defenses in the league. With young players such as Defensive Rookie of the Year contender, Darius Leonard, and corner, Kenny More II, the Colts defense is getting better and better and has formed a formidable unit on that side of the ball, even limiting Deshaun Watson and the explosive Texans to only 7 points in last week’s matchup. Indianapolis as a whole still has ways to go on defense, but with young players and promising coaching, they look poised to make a jump even as soon as in these current playoffs. With the coaching of Reich and Eberflus, the Colts have a bright future on both sides that could make them contenders for years to come.

After beating them the last time they met in the playoffs in 2014, Indianapolis hopes to once again have the Chiefs’ number on Saturday in Kansas City.

While they may have a great future, the time is now in the ever-evolving National Football League for Andrew Luck and the Colts. Tomorrow afternoon, Indianapolis (10-6) travels to Kansas City (12-4) for a huge Divisional Round battle with Patrick Mahomes and the dynamic #1 seeded Chiefs (1:35 PM PT, NBC). While the matchup is difficult for the Colts (the matchup is tough for any defense against Mahomes), the Colts can look to their recent past for inspiration at a possible upset. Back in 2014, the Colts trailed Alex Smith and the Chiefs by a score of 38-10. However, Luck and the Colts stormed back quickly and escaped with an eventual 45-44 win in the second largest playoff comeback in NFL history. What was the largest comeback you may ask? None other than the Frank Reich-led Buffalo Bills, in Jim Kelly’s replacement due to an injury, in a 32 point comeback against the Houston Oilers. The Colts have ties to the past that could fuel them on Saturday, yet realize that the NFL is about today and now. For the Colts, this season seemed like it was only going to be about the future. The defense was young, it was their head coach’s first year, and it was up for debate if Luck would once again be able to suit up in a blue and white uniform. Yet here they are, facing the top seeded Kansas City Chiefs with a chance to go to the AFC Championship Game against the pesky Los Angeles Chargers or rival New England Patriots. It may be tough, but make no mistake. These Colts are ready.