Film Review: Colts Get Good, Bad Luck in Vintage Comeback Win over Cleveland

If you thought the Indianapolis Colts' 25-24 win over the Cleveland Browns felt strangely familiar, you had good reason. 

For one, it seems like each of the Colts' games against Cleveland over the last 15 years has been a one-score comeback win with a struggling offense. 

Year	Location	Winner	Margin	4Q Comeback?	IND Points	IND Season Avg.
1999	CLE	IND	1	Yes	29	26.4
2002	CLE	IND	5	Yes	28	21.8
2003	CLE	IND	3	No	9	27.9
2005	IND	IND	7	No	13	27.4
2008	CLE	IND	4	Yes	10	23.6
2011	IND	CLE	8	No	19	15.2
2012	IND	IND	4	No	17	22.3
2014	CLE	IND	1	Yes	25	31.3

Every time the Colts have played Cleveland in the Peyton Manning/Andrew Luck eras, they've taken advantage of a bad Browns offense while scoring less than their season average. I don't know why anybody ever expected anything different this season. 

Second, and this may be more applicable to younger readers, it was strangely similar to the Colts' signature comeback wins in Luck's rookie year. 

Specifically, it was Luck's performance that seemed reminiscent of 2012, with early turnovers giving way to second-half heroics. It was easy to see in the first half, as Luck went just 9-for-22 for 86 yards (a measly 3.9 yards per attempt) while fumbling away a touchdown. 

With Luck playing poorly, the Colts converted just 1-of-8 third downs in the first half and went on just one scoring drive. 

Much like 2012, Luck's struggles directly correlated to early pressure by the defense, pressure that got him flustered and led to rushed plays. 

On the Colts' second third-down attempt of the game, for example, the Browns ran a six-man blitz that confused the Colts offensive line and exposed Luck to immediate pressure up the middle. Luck rushed his throw to Coby Fleener outside and it sailed out of bounds: 

NFL Game Rewind

Perhaps Luck could have made a throw that gave Fleener a chance to make a play on the ball. Perhaps he could have escaped the pocket to the right and made a play. Either way, the fault belonged to multiple players on the play, including Luck. 

But there was a reason why this game was called one of Luck's worst in his career. Occasionally, he deserved all the blame. 

There were plays like his fumble on the 2-yard line which led to a Cleveland defensive touchdown. On the play, Luck was all but down and tried to get the ball out to throw it away. As he brought the ball out, a second defender came in and knocked it out of his hand. 

Luck has to know when to try to extend a play and when to just take the sack. He's lost six fumbles this year, including four in the last three weeks. As much as his interceptions get talked about, Luck's fumbles are his biggest problem this season, not his interceptions.

There were also passing problems, however, like him missing a wide-open Dan Herron for what could have been a touchdown:

NFL Game Rewind

Then there were poor reads. 

On this third down in the second quarter, for example, Luck tried to force the ball to Reggie Wayne, completely overlooking the linebacker underneath that nearly picked the pass off. 

Or we could look at the Browns' pick-six, where Luck stared down Wayne and the outside cornerback jumped the route:

NFL Game Rewind

In this case, Luck has to be more aware of the other routes and defenders on the play. Luck has had a habit of staring down receivers in the past, but he's done a much better job of using his eyes to move defenders this year. On this play, however, Luck got back to his old habits and it put the Colts in a 21-7 hole. 

But, much like 2012, when Luck did make a good read or throw his receivers often let him down, which made establishing any kind of offensive rhythm extremely difficult.

Even T.Y. Hilton, who had the best game of any of the offensive players, had several big miscues, including a fumble, a dropped touchdown and missing a catch that led to an interception. 

Quarter	Time	Receiver	Miscue	Notes
1	8:04	Wayne	Drop	Announcers called it a PD, but it slips out of Wayne's hand before defender gets there.
1	0:07	Wayne	Drop	Would have been first down.
1	0:03	Fleener	Route	Stops running angle route early.
3	14:22	Hilton	Fumble
3	10:38	Fleener	Route	Slows route early, can't make catch with arms extended.
3	7:26	Nicks	Route	Slow out of break, can't get to well-thrown quick out.
3	5:40	Wayne	Drop	Joe Haden gets arm in front of Wayne, but doesn't touch the ball on what should have been diving catch.
3	4:16	Moncrief	Drop	Great throw by Luck on crossing route, Moncrief just flat drops open catch.
3	0:16	Hilton	Drop	Missed touchdown opportunity.
4	10:21	Hilton	Drop	Throw is a little high, but catchable. Glances off Hilton's hands and is intercepted.
4	7:42	Wayne	Drop	Open, good throw. Would have been first down.

But Luck and the offense made just enough plays to win the game, and much like 2012, a few of the crucial plays came from Andrew Luck's legs. Luck finished with 37 rushing yards, including a critical 11-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-8 in the red zone. He would also make a nine-yard run in the red zone on the final drive to set up Herron's short-yardage conversion.

He made plays with his arm in the second half as well, making much better decisions and throws overall. 

After the Colts' first two drives of the second half ended in turnovers, Luck started feeding his playmakers. 

Luck was 12-of-20 for 186 yards when targeting Hilton, Fleener and Donte Moncrief from that point on, and that included three drops from the trio. On the final drive of the game, Luck knew exactly who his best targets were. 

After a poor blitz pickup by Herron led to a sack on first down, Luck found Fleener for a quick seven yards to set up an easier third down. 

Then Luck hit a small window 20 yards downfield, allowing Moncrief to pick up the big first down to get the drive rolling:

NFL Game Rewind

On the next third down, Luck recognized the Browns' Cover 0 and hit Fleener for 13 yards and a first down up the seam. 

And, of course, on the touchdown, Luck had eyes for nobody but Hilton, who ran a quick pick play right into open space in the flat for a touchdown. 

Overall, it wasn't pretty. In fact, it was downright ugly most of the time. 

But the Colts did just enough to win, particularly in the fourth quarter, just as they did on their way to 11 wins in 2012. It's not football that's going to get media analysts raving, but it's one fans will remember.