Colts look dangerous, NFL power rankings, Alex Smith hurt and more
The Indianapolis Colts are suddenly looking dangerous behind a revamped offense line and Andrew Luck throwing darts all over the field.
Andrew Luck is healthy. So are the Colts.
After missing all of 2017 with a shoulder injury, Luck is playing like an MVP candidate behind a revamped offensive line.
For the first time in his career, Luck has a top-notch head coach in Frank Reich. Reich, 56, got the job because Josh McDaniels left general manager Chris Ballard at the altar, something Ballard must be skipping through team offices over. Reich has proven to be the perfect fit for Luck, a former NFL quarterback who understands the need for protection schemes while continuing to push the ball downfield.
On Sunday, Indianapolis continued its march toward a playoff spot, rolling the Tennessee Titans, 38-10. Tennessee came into the affair having pummeled the Patriots a week prior, but the Titans were no match for the Colts, who sacked Marcus Mariota four times before he left in the second quarter with a hand injury. Meanwhile, Luck remaining upright and aggressive, going 23-of-29 for 297 yards and three touchdowns.
Over Indianapolis’ four-game winning streak, Luck has thrown for 13 touchdowns, completed better than 70 percent of his throws in each contest while averaging 8.72 yards per attempt.
Even more importantly for a team hoping to make real strides as a collective is that Luck didn’t throw for 300 yards in any of those wins, with Indianapolis playing complimentary football. In fact, when Luck has thrown for 300 yards or more, Indy is 0-4 this season.
Up front, the Colts’ line has gone from an annual sieve to a powerful unit. Luck has not been sacked since a Week 5 loss to New England, leading to 26 touchdown passes and only 10 sacks allowed. This all while opening holes for the speedy trio of Marlon Mack, Jordan Wilkins and Nyheim Hines, a group averaging 5.04 yards per rush.
In the big picture, Indianapolis has pulled into second place of the AFC South, two games behind the Houston Texans. More to the point, the Colts are now in a five-way tie at 5-5 for the sixth seed in the AFC, with games still remaining against the Dolphins and Titans, two of their main competitors.
Yet talk about playoff pictures and stats obscure what is the largest, most important truth for any fans in Naptown; Luck is healthy and playing like his former self. There were real questions about whether we would ever see this version of him again, the former No. 1 overall pick seemingly broken by gross football malpractice at the hands of Chuck Pagano and Ryan Grigson.
Now, all of that appears behind him. At 29 years old, the future is bright once more for a team that only three months ago was adrift with a head coach who was a second choice.
With six games remaining in the chase for the postseason, the Colts have a chance to make a quantum leap from doormat to darling, a transformation that seemed impossible in such a short amount of time.
Regardless of how it turns out, Indianapolis appears set for the future with a sterling trio at general manager, head coach and quarterback. It’s been a long, long time coming.
Power rankings
Top 10 rookies thus far in 2018
1. Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
2. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Miami Dolphins
3. Darius Leonard, Indianapolis Colts
4. Bradley Chubb, Denver Broncos
5. Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
6. Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis Colts
7. Jaire Alexander, Green Bay Packers
8. Mike McGlinchey, San Francisco 49ers
9. Saquon Barkley, New York Giants
10. Leighton Vander Esch, Dallas Cowboys
Quotable
"‘’I think you go for two on the road to win the game. And that’s what I did, at the end of the day. Let’s just say the coin toss is gonna go in our favor — what’s to tell you we’re gonna stop ’em? So, why not go for two."
– Panthers coach Ron Rivera on why he went for a game-winning two-point conversion
The Panthers fell to 6-4 on Sunday with a hideous loss to the Lions at Ford Field. Trailing 20-19 with 1:07 remaining in regulation, Carolina elected to attempt a two-point conversion instead of kicking the extra point, perhaps because Graham Gano missed two kicks (PAT, FG) earlier. Still, Gano was perfect entering the day, giving Rivera what should have been plenty of confidence.
Rivera can grouse about playing to win, but he has the better team against a rookie head coach. Kick the extra point, go to overtime and overwhelm an inferior opponent. This was a bad call that leaves the Panthers at 6-4 and completely out of the NFC South race.
Podcast
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Random stat
Through 10 games, the Bills have scored 12 offensive touchdowns, the lowest total in the league. While that’s bad, it’s not historic by any means.
In 1992, the Seahawks averaged only 8.8 points per game, and managed 13 offensive scores for the entire season. In 1976, the Buccaneers went winless as an expansion team. That group totaled an impossible five shutouts against.
Buffalo’s offense is brutal, but the worst ever? Not by a long shot.
Info learned this week
1. Jaguars blow lead to Steelers in game that defies logic
The Steelers are 7-2-1. They should thank Doug Marrone and Blake Bortles.
Jacksonville was in prime position to pull an upset and move within one games of the final playoff spot in the AFC, only to lose the game in spectacular fashion.
Leading 16-6 with the ball at their own 44-yard line and 6:47 on the clock, the Jaguars ran twice for a loss of one yard and then inexcusably allowed Bortles to throw an incompletion, stopping the clock.
After allowing a touchdown on the subsequent Steelers drive, Jacksonville took over at its own 25-yard line with 2:22 remaining, the Jaguars ran twice before facing 3rd and 5. With a first down all but ending the game, Marrone elected not to trust Bortles, runnign Leonard Fournette into the line for a yard.
Predictably, the Steelers won with four seconds left, Ben Roethlisberger diving into the end zone for a 20-16 victory.
The Jacksonville takeaway game here is simple: if Bortles can’t be trusted in that spot, bench him. If Marrone and offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett can’t understand that throwing on 3rd and 11 when time is far more important, they should be removed from the sideline.
Instead of being within a game of the sixth seed, the Jaguars are 3-7 and officially dead, all because the quarterback can’t play and the coaching was mind-numbing.
Meanwhile, the Steelers improve to 7-2-1, moving a half-game ahead of the Patriots for the AFC’ second seed. They also gain another game on the Bengals who fell to Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, 24-21.
2. Redskins lose Alex Smith, grip on NFC East
The Redskins could have put themselves in prime position to win the NFC East with a win over the Texans. Instead, the Redskins are now facing the potential end of their season after a brutal 60 minutes.
In its 23-21 loss, Washington lost Alex Smith for the season. Smith broke his tibia and fibula in a disgusting injury that left his leg dangling, and with it, the Redskins’ hopes of doing any significant come January.
At 6-4, Washington maintains its lead in the East, but that could completely evaporate on Thursday. The Redskins travel on a short week with Colt McCoy under center, taking on the Dallas Cowboys in a Thanksgiving matinee. Dallas won on the road for a second straight week, beating the Falcons on a last-second field goal.
With Smith out and McCoy in, the Redskins are on life support even with a one-game lead over Dallas and a two-game cushion on the Eagles, who lost in decisive fashion to the Saints.
The Redskins hadn’t had a lead change in a game all season until taking a 21-20 lead.
3. Bears make statement with win over Vikings
If you didn’t believe before, you believe now.
On Sunday night, the Bears took the Vikings apart in front of a national audience, which once again got to watch Khalil Mack wreck a football game. Then there was Kirk Cousins and Mitchell Trubisky, each throwing a pair of ugly interceptions to make the game even more wild.
In the end, though, it was the Bears going to 7-3 and extending their NFC North lead over the Vikings to 1.5 games, winning 25-20 at Soldier Field. Chicago was in complete control for the most part, and now gears up for a Thanksgiving tilt with the Lions.
If the Bears can continue to get performances like this from Mack and Akiem Hicks, they might be the toughest out for New Orleans or Los Angeles come the NFC playoffs. The offense is athletic and explosive but has its limits due to Trubisky, but the defense is terrifying.
4. Chargers need to be better in clock management
Yep, more bad coaching cost a team. This time it was the Chargers, with Anthony Lynn and Philip Rivers being the culprits.
Denver was out of timeouts and Los Angeles had the ball with 2:39 remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Chargers leading 22-20 and facing 2nd and 4 at the Broncos’ 44-yard line. On a busted play, Rivers ran around in the pocket and took a three-yard loss instead of diving forward, keeping third down manageable.
Then, following the two-minute warning, Los Angeles threw a quick screen with the pass falling incomplete, leaving observers stunned. Denver got the ball back, drove down the field and kicked a 34-yard field goal to win, 23-22.
With the defeat, the AFC West is firmly in Kansas City’s control. The Chargers are now looking at the fifth seed and a road to the Super Bowl that includes three road games.
If they are going anywhere in January, Lynn and Rivers need to tighten up. The Chiefs, Steelers and Patriots are too good to be beaten with mental mistakes and gifts handed out.
5. Rams, Chiefs matchup being treated as playoff game by NFL
First, the NFL took the unprecedented step of moving the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams from Mexico City to the Coliseum due to field conditions. Now, it’s being reported that the league has an all-star officiating crew working the contest, led by referee Clete Blakeman.
It’s hard to remember a more anticipated regular-season matchup than Kansas City and Los Angeles. Both teams are 9-1, and each has a load of stars that drive both ratings and fantasy scores. The league knows what it has on Monday night, which is both a bonanza of storylines and a potential preview of the Super Bowl come February.
Monday night isn’t what it used to be due to the rise of Sunday Night Football and the ability for a common fan to watch every team, every week, but this one is special.
History lesson
Fifty years ago this week, the Jets and Raiders played in the now-infamous Heidi Bowl, perhaps the greatest indicator of how popular the American Football League had become. With New York leading Oakland 32-29 in the final two minutes, NBC cut away from the game at 7 p.m. ET to broadcast the children’s movie, Heidi.
In the following minutes, fans became so enraged that they jammed and eventually blew up NBC’s switchboard, demanding the game be put back on. It never happened. Everybody outside of the Oakland Coliseum missed the Raiders scoring two touchdowns in the final moments, winning 43-32 in one of the wildest games the AFL ever played.
Less than two months later, the Jets got their revenge, beating the Raiders in the AFL Championship Game. NBC didn’t cut away this time.
Parting shot
The AFC wild card picture is absolute insanity.
While the loser of the race in the AFC West will almost certainly be the fifth seed, the sixth and final seed is going to be a mass scramble well into December.
After Sunday’s action, an incredible five teams find themselves tied at 5-5 for the last spot, including the Titans, Colts, Dolphins, Bengals and Ravens.
Looking at the remaining schedules, Cincinnati and Baltimore each only face two teams with .500 or better records over their final six games. Indianapolis has the most such games at four, although three of those contests are against teams sitting exactly at .500.
It’s going to come down to Week 17, with scenarios flying around left and right. Gotta love it.