Andrew Luck Is Still Knocking the Rust Off

In his second appearance of the preseason, the Colts' franchise QB showed he still has some work to do before Week 1

Andrew Luck in Preseason Week 1 at Seattle: 6-for-9, 64 yards. Monday night vs. Baltimore: 6-for-13, 50 yards, INT. 

Luck showed a little bit of everything Monday night in his home debut, and the second game of his comeback from shoulder surgery. He threw a red zone interception and took a couple sacks, but also stepped up in the pocket to make a few first-down conversions. He played five series total, building upon the two series he played against Seattle last week. He went three-and-out on his first drive and his second ended in an interception in the red zone. On third down, Luck rolled to his right to extend the play and forced a throw to tight end Jack Doyle in the right corner of the end zone. Doyle was well-covered by Ravens linebacker Anthony Levine, who easily made the pick. On his next series, Luck led a 12-play, 48-yard scoring drive.

Luck’s next two drives both ended in sacks. Terrell Suggs took him down to end his fourth drive. Luck was done for the night after he was sacked by Za’Darius Smith to end his fifth drive. The Colts quarterback said last week that it felt good to get hit hard and get back up again, knowing that he’s durable enough. "It’s probably the most excited I have been and will ever be for getting hit,” he said after the Seattle game. The Ravens defense certainly gave him that same satisfaction Monday night...

The Colts were without left tackle Anthony Costanzo, right tackle Denzelle Good and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, which certainly didn’t help Luck’s performance. We still haven’t seen him open it up with any deep throws. Frank Reich stuck to conservative play calls Monday night—Luck didn’t complete any passes over 20 yards.

On Baltimore’s side, Lamar Jackson really looked like a rookie Monday night. He started off shaky. On a five-yard scramble, he ran right into a Colts defender and took an unnecessarily big hit instead of sliding. There were several plays where he looked lost, and his hesitation gave the Colts defense time to chase him out of the pocket and force him to throw the ball out of bounds. Though the longer Jackson played Monday night, the more comfortable he got. He rebounded from his slow start and led a touchdown drive. He finished 7-of-15 for 75 yards and one touchdown.

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3.Carson Wentz is back participating in 11-on-11 work in practice, an important step towards getting ready for a potential Week 1 return.

4. The NFL will discuss the new helmet rule via conference call on Wednesday, and also release an updated video tutorial to help ease confusion. 

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