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Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton Make PFF’s Pro Bowl Roster

By Luke Schultheis

Dec 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) and quarterback Andrew Luck (12) celebrate a second half touchdown against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) and quarterback Andrew Luck (12) celebrate a second half touchdown against the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /
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According to Pro Football Focus’ Sam Monson, both Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton have been selected to the PFF Pro Bowl Roster for 2017 through 14 weeks:

"AFCQuarterbacksTom Brady (NE), Andrew Luck (IND), Derek Carr (OAK)Tom Brady has been the best quarterback in football this season by a fairly wide margin. Both Derek Carr and Andrew Luck have put together the best seasons of their respective careers, but remain a good distance from the untouchable standards Brady has set after returning from his “Deflategate” suspension.Wide receiversAntonio Brown (PIT), A.J. Green (CIN), T.Y. Hilton (IND), Emmanuel Sanders (DEN)Antonio Brown hasn’t been quite the same unstoppable force we saw season ago, and yet he still has 93 catches for 1,130 yards and 11 touchdowns through 14 weeks. T.Y. Hilton quietly trails only Atlanta’s Julio Jones in receiving yards, while A.J. Green was having the best season of his career before injuring his hamstring. Emmanuel Sanders has been extremely reliable for the Broncos, despite quarterback issues in Denver."

Honestly, it’s hard to disagree with either selection.

While Luck is coming off one of his worst performances of the season, his body of work this season as a whole speaks for itself.

Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Andrew Luck (12) in the first half of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (13) celebrates his touchdown with quarterback Andrew Luck (12) in the first half of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

Specifically, the 5th-year quarterback has thrown 25 touchdowns to just 10 interceptions for 3,381 passing yards and a passer rating of 95.3–which is the 2nd best of his career. In the process, Luck has completed 282 of 448 throws for a career high completion rate of 62.9.

This season may not be Luck’s most impressive from purely a statistical standpoint; however, he’s had to play through poor pass protection and his receivers (besides Hilton) have struggled to consistently separate.

Meanwhile, Hilton is having his best season in the NFL.

The 5th-year wide receiver is just 2nd to the Atlanta Falcons Julio Jones (1,253) for most receiving yards with 1,203 receiving yards on the season. Hilton needs just 5 more receptions, 143 receiving yards, and 2 receiving touchdowns to surpass his career highs respectively and still has 3 games to do it.

Currently, Luck is PFF’s 2nd best rated quarterback overall behind the New England Patriots Tom Brady with a +90.7 grade overall, while Hilton is the 5th best rated wide receiver overall–having a +86.6 overall grade.

While the Colts offense has collectively stalled at times, Luck and Hilton appear to among the few constants that can consistently be relied upon on a week-to-week basis to make plays and deliver strong performances.

The one snub appears to be the Colts Pat McAfee, who was passed over for Oakland Raiders punter Marquette King in the AFC.

While King is great in his own right, McAfee bests him in average yards per punt at 49.6 to 47.6, while also having the superior net average yards per punt at 42.8 to 41.2.

King has more punts pinned inside the 20-yard line with 27 such punts to McAfee’s 15 punts; however, McAfee has lost at least 3 masterfully placed punts inside the 5-yard line because the Colts special teams coverage unit couldn’t corral the football before it crossed the plane of the end zone–resulting in touchbacks.

Maybe it should be decided between the two outgoing punters with a celebratory showdown? 

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