Can Andrew Luck Knock Manning and Broncos Out of the Playoffs?
This will be the second straight season in his short three-year career that Andrew Luck will try to get his Indianapolis Colts into the AFC Championship Game. That same task took his predecessor and his foe this weekend, six seasons to do.
If Luck can accomplish the feat, it would help him distance himself from the past accomplishments of Peyton Manning as a Colt.
Luck has shied away from turning the game this Sunday between his Colts and the Denver Broncos into a him against Manning affair.
However, he can attempt to avoid it all he wants, but this meeting, his third against Manning will come down to if Luck and the offense of the Colts can put more points on the board than Denver which has averaged over 30 per game all season.
If the postseason numbers for Luck are an indication, the Colts will have a great opportunity against the defense of the Broncos.
Luck had 1,438 passing yards over his first four postseason games, which is the most in league history.
It is not one quarterback against the other, said Luck, who is 1-1 against Denver thus far in his short career. The Colts lost this season in Week 1 to Denver by seven points.
The Colts have talked about taking the next step, which means reaching the Super Bowl, since training camp started this past summer.
That involves beating Tom Brady and his Patriots and or Manning and the Broncos during the postseason at some point.
Luck has played well against the Broncos. He has hit 56 of this 73 passes with five touchdowns with two interceptions.
However, he learned the hard way in Week 1 that he cannot make mistakes versus the Broncos, which ended the season with the league’s No. 3 overall defense.
Luck was successful versus Cincinnati last week taking what the Bengals gave him instead of forcing his passes.
Nine Colts players caught a reception and four had 54 years or more receiving. That makes life tough for the opposing defense to key on any one player.
Most important, Luck did not commit a turnover, while against Denver in Week 1, he had two turnovers and was stopped on a fourth down from the 1-yard line of Denver.
Questions however remain whether Luck and the Colts can beat a quarterback with the caliber of Manning.
They failed in Week 1 against Manning. They failed in Week 8 versus Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. They failed in Week 11 against Brady.
Even though Tony Romo at Dallas is not in the same group as Brady, Roethlisberger and Manning, the Colts lost to them in Week 16.
Luck will get his opportunity to reach the next level on Sunday, the question is will he and his teammates will be up to the task at hand.
