Andrew Luck in the season opener. (AP Images) |
The Chicago Bears were unkind in welcoming Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck to the NFL. Luck was hit and hurried all day by a swarming and aggressive Bears defense, which rattled the rookie into some uncharacteristic poor throws.
Chicago won easily at home 41-21.
Here's how Luck's career debut broke down:
Passing: 23 of 45, 309 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 52.9 QB rating
Rushing: 2 carries, 9 yards
Targets: Reggie Wayne (18), Coby Fleener (10), Donnie Avery (8), Kris Adams (4), Donald Brown (2), Mewelde Moore (1), Dominique Jones (1), LaVon Brazill (1)
Scores: 4-yard pass to Avery
Turnovers: 3 interceptions, 1 fumble lost
Obligatory Peyton Manning comparison: Manning in rookie season (1998), Week 1 -- vs. Miami (L, 24-15), 21 of 37, 302 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, 58.6 QB rating
Pass-by-pass
First Drive (0-0, midfield: 3 plays, 6 yards, punt)
- First-and-10: Complete, Jones, 8 yards -- Safe play-action to get Luck's feet wet.
- Third-and-4: Incomplete (Wayne) -- Wide open on an out, but ball was way high as Luck was under pressure. A sign of things to come.
Second Drive (7-7, IND 20: 6 plays, 17 yards, punt)
- First-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 8 yards -- Short cross, easy pass and catch.
- Second-and-2: Incomplete (Wayne) -- Flushed, did well to elude pressure.
- Second-and-14: Complete, Brazill, 10 yards -- Empty backfield, and Luck hits Brazill short.
- Third-and-4: Incomplete (Wayne) -- Again Wayne was open but Luck was pressured and couldn't complete the pass.
Third Drive (7-7, IND 44: 3 plays, 9 yards, punt)
- Third-and-1: Incomplete (Brown) -- Drop.
Fourth Drive (7-14, IND 20: 2 plays, 17 yards, INT)
- First-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 17 yards -- Good pass deep middle.
- First-and-10: Interception -- Tried to hit Avery deep sideline. Receiver was there, but the throw was short. Probably a throw he gets away with in college.
Fifth Drive (7-17, IND 23: 5 plays, 77 yards, TD)
- First-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 23 yards -- Really tough catch by Wayne deep down the sideline. Good gain.
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Wayne) -- Very nearly intercepted.
- Second-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 12 yards -- Wayne grabs it with one hand for a good game. One of several one-handed grabs for Wayne on the day.
Sixth Drive (14-24, IND 22: 6 plays, 59 yards, missed FG)
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 7 yards -- Indy was trying to get some points at the end of the half, and Luck starts with an easy throw over the middle to his tight end.
- Second-and-3: Complete, Wayne, 8 yards -- Again, Wayne makes a one-handed catch for the first down.
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 22 yards -- Colts run the hurry up and Luck finds Fleener deep middle.
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 22 yards -- It's no coincidence that once Luck gets into the hurry up he looks for his security blanket -- Fleener -- who has been with him since his Stanford days.
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Avery) -- Final shot at the endzone.
Seventh Drive (14-24, IND 20: 3 plays, 1 yard, punt)
- Second-and-9: Incomplete (Fleener)
- Third-and-9: Incomplete (Adams) -- Slow start for Luck, as this was a bad pass behind Adams.
Eighth Drive (14-34, IND 20: 10 plays, 70 yards, INT)
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 5 yards -- Safe, short pass.
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Brown) -- Second drop. Two targets for Brown, two drops.
- Second-and-10: Complete, Adams, 13 yards -- Good catch by Adams for a good gain.
- Second-and-10: Incomplete (Avery) -- Luck really hung Avery out to dry, and Avery got killed.
- Third-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 19 yards -- Good feet by Luck to get free of the rush and he finds Wayne for a big third-down conversion.
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 24 yards -- Fleener wasn't much of a target for Luck in the preseason, but he made his presence known in the opener. A great throw by Luck here.
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Wayne)
- Third-and-3: Intercepted. Luck tried to find Wayne in the end zone and gets picked. He showed some frustration here; it looks like the pressure from the Bears' defense was starting to fluster him a bit.
Ninth Drive (14-34, IND 46: 3 plays, 13 yards, fumble)
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Fleener)
Tenth Drive (14-34, IND 20: 12 plays, 80 yards, TD)
- Second-and-4: Complete, Wayne, 20 yards -- The Bears were content to let Wayne catch the ball in front of them, and the Colts kept taking it. Here, again, Luck hits Wayne short.
- Second-and-8: Complete, Wayne, 21 yards -- This was a deeper throw over the middle.
- Second-and-10: Incomplete (Fleener) -- Drop.
- Third-and-10: Incomplete (Avery)
- Fourth-and-10: Complete, Adams, 13 yards -- Short middle for a fourth down conversion.
- First-and-10: Complete, Wayne, 7 yards -- Quick out to get near the Chicago 10.
- Second-and-3: Complete, Avery, 7 yards -- Quick hit.
- First-and-goal: Incomplete (Wayne)
- Second-and-goal: Complete, Avery, 4 yards, touchdown -- And the answer to the trivia question: Who caught Andrew Luck's first career NFL touchdown pass? Donnie Avery!
Eleventh Drive (21-41, IND 19: 5 plays, 2 yards, punt)
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Wayne)
- Second-and-10: Complete, Moore, 11 yards -- Short pass to Moore out of the backfield.
- First-and-10: Incomplete (Wayne)
- Second-and-10: Incomplete (Avery) -- Pass was tipped at the line, no chance for Avery.
Twelfth Drive (21-41, IND 43: 4 plays, 31 yards, INT)
- First-and-10: Complete, Fleener, 2 yards -- Short pass for short gain.
- Second-and-8: Incomplete (Fleener)
- Fourth-and-15: Complete, Avery, 26 yards -- Big gainer down the left sideline.
- First-and-10: Intercepted (Adams) -- Just a forced pass to end Luck's day.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Colts blogger Evan Hilbert, follow @CBSColts.