Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts Beat the Chicago Bears 29-23
By Kyle Nishida
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
Colts | 3 | 13 | 3 | 10 | 29 |
Bears | 3 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 23 |
The Indianapolis Colts (2-3) once again trailed last in the fourth quarter. However, Andrew Luck and company managed to pull off a 29-23 comeback win over the Chicago Bears (1-4) this time.
The Colts entered this afternoon’s game under an immense amount of pressure. Everyone, from media to former players, was taking shots at the players, coaches and front office officials. The franchise desperately needed a win to damp criticism for at least this week.
The Colts held the lead for the majority of the game. However, it has become increasingly obvious no lead is safe for Indianapolis. They lost the lead midway through the fourth quarter, but they were quickly rescued by Andrew Luck.
After Brian Hoyer touchdown throw gave the Bears a 23-19 lead with 7:14 left, Luck sprung into action. He immediately led the Colts on a six-play, 82-yard drive that ended with a 35-yard touchdown catch by T.Y. Hilton.
The touchdown strike gave the Colts a 26-23 lead, and they held onto the lead for the final 3:43 of the game. Luck finished the game with 322 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and no turnovers. Hilton had 10 catches for 171 receiving yards and one TD.
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Even with these two performing at a high level, the team should feel fortunate that they ended up winning the game. The Colts continued to struggle with the same issues that have plagued them all season.
The Colts’ offensive line is still struggling to give Luck a clean pocket to throw in. After surrendering six sacks to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week, the unit allowed five more sacks today.
Also, there was not a whole lot of support from players around Luck. Dwayne Allen had six catches for 50 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Frank Gore had 75 rushing yards. Other than Hilton, Allen and Gore, the Colts did not receiving a lot of production.
On defense, the Colts struggled to stop the Bears from moving the ball with ease. The Bears gained 522 total yards on offense and earned 25 first downs (they earned 17 on passing plays).
Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer threw for 397 passing yards and two touchdowns. At the same time, the Colts allowed rookie running back Jordan Howard run for 118 rushing yards (averaged 7.4 yard per carry).
To be fair, the Colts’ defense did force a fumble late in the fourth which put the Colts in field goal position. Plus, the defense forced the Bears to turn the ball over on downs in the redzone on the Bears’ final possession of the game.
A win like this is always a positive sign, especially for the Colts. However, people should not get too confident about this team moving forward. This team is still flawed in so many ways and nothing today suggested they will fix the issues any time soon.
Next: Grigson Blames Luck’s Contract for Inability to Build Defense
The Colts need to sharpen up their play if they want to have a legitimate shot at beating the Houston Texans on the road on October 16.