The comparisons are inevitable. Andrew Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012, and No. 2 pick Robert Griffin III will be scrutinized throughout the season, and probably throughout their careers, unless one of them does his best Ryan Leaf impersonation. And RG3 always will be looked at through a prism of Luck. That's why we're compiling all the most important stats for every game they play this year, and some of the most unimportant aspects of those contests as well. This way it'll be easier to tell who is his team's savior and who should be forced to join JaMarcus Russell in the corner away from the rest of civilization.
Week 10: Coming off his rookie-record 433-yard game the week before, Luck wasn’t quite as good vs. the Jaguars. Of course, he didn’t have to be, as the Colts rolled to an easy 27-10 win. Griffin’s Redskins were on their bye this week.
Passing stats
Luck: 18-26, 227 yards, zero touchdowns, one interception
Rushing stats
Luck: Seven carries, 11 yards, two touchdowns
Longest play from scrimmage
Luck: With the Colts already leading 10-0, Luck put the team in position to score again with a fantastic 44-yard pass to Donnie Avery. After taking his seven-step drop, Luck stepped up slightly in the pocket and fired a pass to Avery that went just over the outstretched arm of Jaguars cornerback Aaron Ross -- who originally had good coverage but then tried to step in front of Avery for the interception. Avery caught it and gained another 15 yards before he was tackled at the 6.
Best play
Luck: On his 5-yard touchdown run, Luck rolled right on a bootleg, pump-faked (without seeming to fool anybody on defense) and still managed to beat two Jaguars players in a footrace to the end zone. When he got there, he took a hit from another Jacksonville defender who was waiting for him on the edge. Despite all that, Luck has five rushing touchdowns this season, one fewer than Griffin.
Worst play
Luck: With Luck facing significant pressure up the middle, he basically just threw the ball up in the air and Dawan Landry intercepted it. It was his first interception in his last 76 pass attempts, but major kudos to Luck for putting a hit on Landry as he returned the turnover. Still, it was a terrible pass that originally was intended for Avery. Unfortunately for Luck, it was nowhere near him.
Best pregame line
Luck: Andrew Luck plays Thursday night. Robert Griffin III has the week off. Thus, the questions people in Indianapolis and Washington, and elsewhere, have asked for two months -- Who’s better? By how much? Why? -- will take a pause, if only for a few days. “You always did that with Elway and Marino,” Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said last week. “Those are natural. You think about the whole class, but especially the guys that really play at a high level, it’s natural to watch and compare.” Luck was born Sept. 12, 1989. Griffin arrived exactly five months later. By virtue of this happy coincidence of chronology -- not to mention their strong right arms, their quick minds, their position as the first and second players taken in the NFL draft and their arrival to sorry teams that started them immediately -- we are halfway through the first season in which Luck and Griffin will be compared in every aspect of their games. -- Barry Svrluga, Washington Post
Best postgame line
Luck: If you want to understand one of the fundamental differences why the Indianapolis Colts selected Andrew Luck over Robert Griffin III, Thursday was a tutorial. Luck, 6-foot-4 and 234 pounds, is a man who can impose his will on a game even when things aren't going well. Griffin, 6-2, 217, is a man you're afraid will be imposed upon. This is the fundamental, physical element to the game. Where Luck is built along the lines of a linebacker, Griffin is a sprinter. Sure, both can work, but the odds are that the linebacker is going to last longer. -- Jason Cole, Yahoo! Sports
Team savior scale (1-5)
Luck: It certainly wasn’t one of Luck’s better performances of the season, and considering he was facing the lowly Jaguars, you could have expected more of a dominating performance. Instead, he just helped his team to a win. He gets a 3 (last week was a 5; overall this season, he's a 75.6 percent team savior).
Griffin: For the season, he's a 64.4 percent team savior.
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