Off-Topic » HOUSTON (AP) — A year ago at this time Andrew

Luck was at home struggling with an injured shoulder that cost him the entire season.On Saturday he wrote a happy ending to the latest chapter of his comeback season Peyton Manning Jersey , throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts raced out to a big lead and cruised to a 21-7 win over the Houston Texans in the wild-card game.Article continues below ...Luck put on a show in his hometown in a stadium where he’d attended games throughout childhood and played in them since high school, throwing for 191 yards and two touchdowns before halftime to help the Colts (11-6) build a 21-0 lead.He denied feeling “at home” at NRG Stadium, but admitted to having warm feelings for the city he grew up in and where his grandparents and many friends still reside.“But it’s still an away stadium,” he said. “It was very loud, very energetic, but fun to win, certainly.”Running back Marlon Mack had 148 yards and a touchdown for Indianapolis, which advances to face the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round next weekend.“We know we have an elite quarterback and we can throw it for 400 and win when we have to,” Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said.“But the margin for error in playoff football when you try to do it that way is very thin. When you can win like this — running the football and stopping it — that’s just everything.”Houston (11-6), which overcame a 0-3 start to win the AFC South, gave up too many big plays and couldn’t get anything going on offense in the first half to fall into the huge hole.Deshaun Watson, who was sacked an NFL-leading 62 times in the regular season, was sacked three times and hit eight more times in a disappointing playoff debut. He finished with 235 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.“Just a lack of execution on our part Al Woods Color Rush Jersey ,” Watson said. “We didn’t make plays. I didn’t make plays. Communication was a little off. You just got to give the Colts the credit.”The Colts, who opened the season 1-5, continued an impressive run by winning their fifth straight and for the 10th time in 11 games. Saturday was their first playoff appearance since the AFC championship game loss at New England in the “Deflategate” game in the 2014 season.It was another good game in a splendid season for Luck. He threw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns in the regular season after missing all of 2017 with a shoulder injury.The Texans didn’t score until rookie Keke Coutee grabbed a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a 16-play, 89-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion that cut it to 21-7 with about 11 minutes left.They led the NFL with nine comeback wins this season, but their attempt at a rally ended on their next possession when Watson’s pass on fourth-and-10 from the Indianapolis 24 fell short with about four minutes left.Luck threw for 863 yards with six touchdowns as the teams split two meetings in the regular season. He picked up right where he left off in this one, when he found Eric Ebron on a 6-yard TD pass on their first drive. That play was set up by a 38-yard catch by T.Y. Hilton, who had 63 yards receiving on that drive.“We didn’t have a lot of guys that made the playoffs so the guys that made the playoffs wanted to go out there and set the tone early, try to get the crowd out of the game,” Hilton said. “That’s what we did.”Hilton didn’t have any catches on the next drive, but the Colts still drove down the field easily and made it 14-0 on a 2-yard run by Mack later in the first.Houston went for it on fourth-and-4 from the Indianapolis 45 on its second possession and Watson was intercepted by Kenny Moore II. It was his first interception since he threw two against the Redskins on Nov. 18.The Colts got to the 17 after that before J.J. Watt deflected Luck’s pass and he was intercepted by Brandon Dunn. But the Texans couldn’t move the ball and had to punt.Indianapolis pushed the lead to 21-0 when Luck connected with Dontrelle Inman on an 18-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter.“It’s very frustrating when they’re able to execute and get their job done,” Watt said. “We had a couple of big penalties early in the game as well. But you have to overcome it and you have to find a way to win.”The Texans had a fourth-and-1 from the 9 late in the second quarter and went for it again instead of settling for a field goal. The gamble didn’t pay off when Watson’s pass to DeAndre Hopkins was low and bounced in front of him in the end zone.INJURIESColts: Safety Malik Hooker left in the third quarter with a foot injury. … S Mike Mitchell injured his calf in the third quarter and didn’t return.Texans: Safety Justin Reid injured his ribs in the second quarter and didn’t return. … Hopkins said he played most of the game with a Grade 3 AC sprain of his right shoulder after injuring it in the first half.UP NEXTColts: Travel to Kansas City where the Chiefs were 7-1 in the regular season.Texans: The Texans have some decisions to make in the offseason with defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and safety Tyrann Mathieu both becoming free agents. They might use the franchise tag to keep Clowney, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck looks and sounds like his old self.He’s smiling https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Erik-Swoope-Jersey , cherishing each snap. He’s throwing touchdowns and winning games, staying healthy and chasing the kinds of milestones so many expected when the Indianapolis Colts made him the top overall pick in the 2012 draft.Yes, at age 29, he’s again having fun playing football.“I was not in a good spot a year ago. I remember that. I am in a good spot now,” Luck said in his trademark low-key tone following Sunday’s 38-10 victory over Tennessee.“My perspective is a little different toward this game. I appreciate things maybe a little bit more and I think that’s pretty consistent with anybody who’s been out for significant time with an injury.”Twelve months ago, Luck was questioning everything from whether a second surgical procedure might alleviate the pain in his right shoulder to whether he would ever play another NFL game.He had been shut down for the season by going on injured reserve and headed to Europe where he continued rehabbing in relative anonymity.He spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in the Netherlands and when he returned home, just before Indy’s season finale, Luck recounted some of the emotional challenges he faced during his prolonged recovery from a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder.Even then, things didn’t go according to plan.The only NFL coach Luck played for, Chuck Pagano, was fired a few days after his return. New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels accepted the Colts’ coaching job then backed out, paving the way for Frank Reich to eventually take over while Luck’s recovery essentially started over.“We were throwing little — I don’t even know what kind of balls they were — weighted balls, but they didn’t have points on them Malik Hooker Jersey ,” Reich said when asked to recount Luck’s status when he first arrived in town.“He was patient. I give him a lot of credit. He was really patient and he just said he was going to stay patient and trust the process and he did that. So that’s a lot of credit to him.”Luck didn’t start throwing footballs until May, didn’t start throwing at practice till mid-June and was kept on a strict pitch count at training camp.So when the Colts started 1-5 and Luck was throwing short, some naturally wondered if Luck would ever regain his pre-injury form.A month later, there are no more doubts.Luck is in the midst of his best pro season with his completion rate (67.3 percent) and rating (101.8) at career highs and his 29 TD passes ranked second in the league to Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes. Luck has reduced the number of interceptions and forced passes and hasn’t been sacked in five weeks, a total of 214 consecutive dropbacks.The closest Tennessee even came to touching Luck on Sunday was when Luck tried to catch a touchdown pass from tight end Eric Ebron.As a result, Indy (5-5) has won four straight to jump back into the playoff picture.If Luck throws three more TD passes this weekend against Miami, he will tie Peyton Manning (eight) for the second-longest streak of consecutive games in league history with only New England’s Tom Brady (10) ahead of him. And the deep throws have returned, too.But the more people talk about Luck’s gaudy numbers, the more focused Luck becomes on enjoying football and life.“It’s nice that the results are positive for us certainly, but I wouldn’t say that I’m having more fun,” he said. “I’m just enjoying it. It’s a great group of guys. It’s a great group of coaches (and a) great building.”If the injury taught Luck anything, it’s how quickly things can change in the NFL.He lost right guard Matt Slauson to a season-ending back injury after Week 5 and now, in the midst of this remarkable streak Quincy Wilson Color Rush Jersey , he may be missing center Ryan Kelly, who left Sunday’s game with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Reich said doctors are still evaluating Kelly’s knee.The loss of Kelly could be huge, given offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo recently said Kelly was playing at a Pro Bowl level and was one of the best centers in the league.“We feel like Evan (Boehm) is ready if he’s the one playing,” Reich said Monday. “Obviously Ryan is playing at a super high level. So I am not going to suggest that there wouldn’t be any changes, but they would be very minimal.”Luck understands what it will be like for Kelly if he can’t play.After fighting through the physical pain and mental difficulty, the agony of defeat and the heartache of not being able to help out, Luck believes he has come out the other end as a better player.“Everybody’s got a story to tell. Certainly as a quarterback in this league, if you play for a couple years you’re going to have gone through something,” he said. “I’d like to think that what happened, the result of that is probably the best thing for my career, the best thing that could’ve happened.”