Andrew Luck Must Step Up for Colts to Beat Broncos

Sep 29, 2013; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) during the first half of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis, IN – The city of Indianapolis is buzzing about the return of Peyton Manning that will be seen on Sunday Night Football this week. With the Broncos coming to town, there are a lot of emotions swirling through Colts fans. One thing that is being talked about is the match-up between Manning and his replacement in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck.

Luck has been having a decent season, but has failed to put up the big numbers that many reporters and analysts were expecting to see from him. While he has shown major improvement taking care of the football, he hasn’t been able to put the football in the endzone either, throwing for just seven touchdowns through the first seven games for the Colts. If the Colts want a chance to knock off the Broncos on Sunday night, they will have to get a big performance from second year quarterback Andrew Luck.

Peyton Manning is having a career season which is sparking the discussion of whether or not the Colts should have let him walk last off-season. While they were able to draft Luck, many believe it would have been wise to keep Manning around for a good three to four years and allow Luck to learn from arguably the best quarterback that we have seen in recent NFL history. Despite all the discussions that are going around, the facts are that Peyton Manning is heading into Indianapolis for the first time as the quarterback starting against the Colts.

The Denver Broncos have allowed 337.7 yards per game through the air to opponents this year, which is the worst number in the entire NFL. Andrew Luck has to find a way to break out and pass the football successfully against the Broncos if they want to hang with the Manning led Broncos offense. This seems to be a game where we could see Luck break out, but he has to keep his emotions under control and play his game.

Denver does have the best rushing defense in the NFL, which will be something to keep an eye on as well. Indianapolis Colts offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton loves to use the power ground game to set up his offense, but that may not be available this week against the Broncos. It will be interesting to see what kind of gameplan the Colts come in with on Sunday night.

Overall, this is going to be one of the most exciting games to watch that we’ll have this season. There are not many times that we see a quarterback at the level of Peyton Manning that leave the teams that they have played their entire careers with and come back and play them when both teams are competitive. The Colts’ defense has to step up and make a play or two, and Andrew Luck has to play at a higher level than we’ve seen him play all season if the Colts want to have any chance of coming away with a huge victory on Sunday night.

Evan Massey is an Editor at Naptown’s Finest. Follow Evan and Naptown’s Finest on Twitter.