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The Indianapolis Colts are back in the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2014 after beating the Tennessee Titans 33-17 on Sunday night.
Andrew Luck finished 24-of-35 for 285 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
The Houston Texans clinched the AFC South title earlier in the day by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars. As a result, the Colts finished sixth in the AFC and will play the Texans in the Wild Card Round.
Regardless of how deep Indianapolis gets into the playoffs, simply reaching the postseason gives first-year head coach Frank Reich a great springboard for 2019 and beyond. The achievement is also a far cry from where the franchise was in the offseason.
After previously agreeing to take over as the Colts head coach, Josh McDaniels backed out in February to stay with the New England Patriots, leaving Indianapolis scrambling for a backup plan. The Colts then had to battle both the perception and reality of Reich being their second choice for their head coaching vacancy.
Andrew Luck’s recovery from shoulder surgery loomed as well. Luck missed the entire 2017 season and said in August he wondered during the recovery process whether his football career would be over entirely.
The concerns about both Reich and Luck proved to be unfounded.
Things didn’t look good early on as Indianapolis started 1-5, but the team rattled off nine wins in its final 10 games, in part due to Reich’s willingness to play the odds and think outside of the box.
“What most people would agree on who use the analytics is that what [they] tell us is that historical coaching philosophy [in the NFL] has been a little conservative, and that there’s reason to be a little bit more aggressive,” he said in an interview with the Indianapolis Star‘s Zak Keefer. “And that you have to have maturity and wisdom to interpret the chart the way that you think is best for your team. That’s the art of it.”
Just as important, Luck is playing like one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks again. He entered Week 17 ranked seventh among qualified quarterbacks in DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement), per Football Outsiders. And after Sunday, he finished the regular season with 4,593 passing yards and 39 touchdowns to 15 interceptions.
The 2018 campaign could’ve easily gone off the rails, especially given where things were after six games. Maybe Reich would look out of his depth as an NFL head coach, or Luck’s shoulder issues would continue lingering well after his return to the field.
Instead, this year was just about the best-case scenario for Indianapolis, and fans have reason to expect bigger things next season.
from Top Viral News Blog http://bit.ly/2EYuDSz
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