The Indianapolis Colts defeated the St. Louis Rams by a 38-3 margin in its 2012 preseason opener at Lucas Oil Stadium. The 38 points scored by the Colts is the highest total in a preseason game dating back to 1989 when the Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 38-34 (9/2/89).
Any doubts about Andrew Luck and his transition to the NFL were removed last night by Luck himself who displayed the poise of a veteran. Being in front of a loud and a determined home crowd did not faze Luck at all. Each completion was crisp and on target.
In his first action in a Colts uniform, he finished the day 10-of-16 for 188 yards and two touchdowns for a 142.7 passer rating. Under center for four offensive possessions, Luck led the Colts to three touchdowns. Luck completed a pass to running back Donald Brown who scampered 63 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Starting at the Colts’ 37-yard line, Luck took the snap and found Brown coming off a block on a screen pass. On Luck’s third drive of the game, coming off a recovered fumble by nose tackle Brandon McKinney, the rookie quarterback moved the offense 53 yards in seven plays en route to a 23-yard touchdown pass to Austin Collie. The score gave Indianapolis a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
On the team’s second to last possession of the second quarter, Luck drove the offense 80 yards in 13 plays, which included a 32-yard strike to wide receiver Quan Cosby. The drive was capped by a one-yard touchdown run by running back Delone Carter to give the Colts a 21-3 lead.
Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne said, “Luck was calm…he didn’t get too hyped up and he let the game come to him. This man has been good for years, college and in his hometown of Houston; he has been the man for years.”
For any rookie stepping into the limelight, being the signal caller draws often overwhelming attention with people anxious to declare the quarterback a bust. In Luck’s typical manner, he showed that being called a bust wasn’t in his game plan. Our bet is that Luck will continue to display many more poised moments on future game days and the only bust we expect to see is in Canton.
By Melissa Mahler and Jameel Shareef
