Andrew Luck: Why He’s A Legitimate MVP Candidate
Dec 7, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback
Andrew Luck(12) celebrates a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Colts beat the Browns 25-24. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
Why is Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck a legitimate candidate to win the MVP award this season?
As Colts fans, we’re used to reach this time of the year with two things in mind: “who are the Colts going to play in January?” and, “should the Colts’ QB win the MVP?” Sorry, not trying to sound arrogant, but Peyton Manning spoiled us and Andrew Luck followed his example. We’ll most likely talk about the first one after the Texans game this weekend, but what about the second? Is Luck really a legitimate MVP candidate? Well, that’s easy. He is.
For starters, Luck has been a Top 3 quarterback this season, right next to Peyton and Aaron Rodgers. There’s no one else that belongs in that group, at least this season. Other than these guys, the only other players who might be considered for the award would be Rob Gronkowski and JJ Watt, but it’s tough to imagine them actually beating a QB, even as dominant as they’ve been.
First of all, let’s go with stats. Luck is tied with Peyton for most touchdown passes this year, with 36, one more than Aaron Rodgers. The former Stanford QB leads the NFL in passing yards, with 4,305. He’s also thrown for more than 300 yards in 10 games this year. He’s been great a runner too, with 250 yards and three scores.
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In terms of impact, Luck’s has been as big as anyone else’s. He has led the Colts to a 9-4 record after starting the year 0-2 in a team where he helps hide several issues, just like Peyton Manning during his time with the Colts. No Luck and it would be 2011 all over again.
The Week 2 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles has been his worst game of the year and, other than him throwing for three touchdowns, the Colts probably would’ve won the game had it not been for an insulting holding in Philadelphia’s territory missed by the officials in the fourth quarter. Then the Colts won five in a row, only to be destroyed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, despite the offense scoring 34 points, Luck’s three touchdowns and 400 passing yards. Luck did everything in his power to win that day, but that wasn’t enough to overcome a historically bad defensive performance by the Colts. Sadly, that story repeated itself a few weeks later against the New England Patriots, where former Notre Dame RB Jonas Gray single-handedly humiliated Indy at home with 201 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
Whenever Luck is given a real, fair chance, he gets the job done more often than not. Just look at the game in Cleveland last Sunday. His defense (and QB Brian Hoyer) kept the Colts alive in that game, and Luck orchestrated a ridiculous scoring drive late in the game to get that ninth win. He has an unreal talent to overcome adversity, whether we’re talking about a shaky defense, poor offensive line play, wasted downs trying to feed Trent Richardson, the officials being terribly awful or even his own mistakes, like lost fumbles or interceptions.
We’re talking about just a third-year QB and he’s already trying to compete with the big names like Peyton and Rodgers. He’s not quite there yet though. For example, he needs to take care of the ball a lot better and know when to just take a sack. He’s thrown 13 interceptions and fumbled 12 times, losing six.
While that little issue might end up costing him his chances of winning the MVP (which probably will go to Rodgers), the reality is his outstanding season easily makes him a contender for the award. In any case, there’s no hurry for him. It’s just his third year and look where he’s at already. The way he’s playing, he could probably win it next year and no one would be surprised by it, just like no one acts shocked if he pulls a ridiculous comeback.
So, what do you guys think? Is he a real contender or am I just dreaming? Feel free to share your opinion below.