Colts ride Luck to buck Broncos’ unbeaten run

The collective message coming out of the Indianapolis locker room in the wake of the Colts’ 27-24 defeat of favored Denver was loud and clear: Don’t bury us yet. Talk about what you’re watching and get previews on all three late afternoon starts here.

Talib had also been flagged for unnecessary roughness with 2:35 left in the game after he poked his fingers into the eyes of Indianapolis tight end Dwayne Allen. “But we might want to look into that and see if that was a fair assessment of the game”.

One reason to get excited: Maybe Luck has finally turned the corner from what’s been an atrocious season for him so far. While the penalties took points off the board, which would have given Indianapolis a 30-24 lead, it gave the Colts the football at Denver’s 1-yard line.

Luck, who replaced Manning in Indianapolis after he was released by the team following the 2011 season, completed 21 of 36 passes for 252 yards and two touchdowns. On Manning’s first drop back he threw an interception to Darius Butler.

Newton threw for 297 yards as the Panthers (8-0) took an important step toward securing home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

Andrew Luck looked like a different quarterback Sunday, and the Colts looked like the team they were supposed to be all season. As the Colts were able to capitalize on a Adam Vinatieri field goal which sealed the victory for the Colts. The Rams running back gained 89 yards and a touchdown on 24 attempts.

“Hearing all the B.S. about we can’t do this, we can’t do that, and today, we stood up to a top team in the National Football League”, said Gore to Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports. “But be real, though”. Be real. When y’all watch film, we also help the other team. We (don’t) suck. We’re not a suck team. “The guys just made a decision: Hey, we’re going to be efficient, we’re going to play with energy”. On Sunday, the Colts didn’t beat themselves, and it started with their quarterback.

Chuck Pagano credited new offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski with the gameplan.

When I asked Broncos coach Gary Kubiak if the Broncos lost their cool as they lost the game, he suggested the Broncos made a gallant gallop to come back but mistakes caused them to come undone. The biggest thing about Luck’s performance is that he didn’t turn the ball over after entering the game with an NFL-high 13 turnovers on the season. Check, check, and check. The Broncos defense got their offense the ball back in a hurry and Denver marched right back down the field and kicked a 29 yard field goal to cap a 10 play 79 yard drive, that tied the game 17-17.

You make it work, indeed. However, he has yet to put together consistently good outings, we saw it when the Colts faced New England. No, of course not.

The Colts jumped out to a 17 point lead in the first half, but then they gave it up, letting the Broncos tie the game in the third quarter.

The Colts (4-5) ended a three-game losing streak and stayed atop the AFC South by ruining Peyton Manning’s return to Indy again. Now there’s a real chance the Colts can make something of this season. Sure, there are a few flaws that won’t be getting better, and sure, there will still be turmoil in the front office and with the coaching staff. That’s not going away anytime soon, either. At this point it’s only one game, but it’s a huge one.

The Vikings won their seventh straight home game despite losing quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to concussion early in the fourth quarter, and St. Louis having first possession in overtime.

Blaine Gabbert threw a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes to Garrett Celek and the 49ers (3-6) head into the bye on a winning note after a week of change. Will that carry forward for the second half of the season? Maybe, but only time will tell.