INDIANAPOLIS -- The anticipation -- almost three weeks of it -- had been there, as the Indianapolis Colts were wondering and waiting to see what quarterback Andrew Luck would look like once he returned from missing two games due to a right shoulder injury.
It didn’t take long to realize that Luck was fine. In fact he was clearly better than he had been in the first 11 quarters he played this season.
He showed nice touch along the sideline on a pass to Andre Johnson for 16 yards on the first offensive play of the game. He followed with a 10-yard completion to Dwayne Allen. There were also six other completions on that opening drive that was capped off with Luck throwing a 5-yard fade to Donte Moncrief for a touchdown.
It was the type of drive -- 8-of-9 -- that made Colts fans want to stand up and scream at the top of their lungs, “FINALLY!”
Luck finished the game 30-of-50 for a season-high 312 yards, three touchdowns and -- just as important -- he didn’t throw any interceptions against the Patriots for the first time in five career meetings against them. Luck also spread the ball around, completing passes to 10 different players.
“He played well,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “Obviously we expect him to play even better this Sunday (against New Orleans).”
The question for Luck the day following the game was: How did his throwing shoulder feel?
“Good,” he said.
In typical Luck fashion, the quarterback was more worried about the passes he was off target on. He overthrew some receivers, threw behind them and was several feet short on a pass to T.Y. Hilton.
“(I) missed opportunities, missed some spots, missed some throws,” Luck said. “Love to have them back, but the beauty of sports is you can’t. Hindsight’s 20-20.”
The first 11 quarters Luck played this season were not good. He threw seven interceptions, and you wondered if the fourth-year player was having a senior-year slump. It wasn’t until the fourth quarter of the Colts’ Week 3 game at Tennessee did Luck show signs of being his old self. He was 11-of-13 for 144 yards and two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes of the game, and put up those numbers while dealing with the shoulder injury.
Sitting out allowed Luck, who at times tries to do too much, to sit back and watch how backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck ran the offense in those two games. Hasselbeck didn’t turn ball over and he didn't try to force the ball down the field.
“[Luck] made great decisions,” Pagano said. “Took what the defense was giving him. (If) it wasn’t there down the field, throw it away, hit a check down, play really good football.”
It was the type of football everybody had been waiting for.