AFC Championship Game 2015: Key Players, Injuries and Colts vs Patriots Analysis

Andrew Luck must now reverse the curse against the New England Patriots if he wants to lead his Indianapolis Colts to the Super Bowl.

Luck, despite all his career successes to date, struggles mightily against Tom Brady and the Pats, as ESPN Stats & Info detailed:

That obviously doesn't bode well for Indy, especially after New England's stunning win over the Baltimore Ravens this weekend. That said, the Colts decisively took care of Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos this weekend, so anything can happen.

There's a lot to digest heading into the AFC Championship Game. Luckily, you have a week to soak in as much as possible. Below, you'll find the most crucial information regarding injuries, key players and more.

Team Injury Reports

Injury reports for the AFC Championship Game have yet to be released. To get an idea of who might be on the report, check out the most recent ones from the divisional round. Reports are courtesy of NFL.com.

Player	Position	Injury	Game Status
Reggie Wayne	WR	--	--
D'Qwell Jackson	LB	--	--
Jerrell Freeman	LB	Abdomen	Probable
Jonotthan Harrison	C	Concussion	Probable
Andrew Jackson	LB	Hamstring	Probable
Henoc Muamba	LB	Back	Probable
Allan Shipley	C	Ankle	Probable
Gregory Toler	CB	Knee	Probable
Erik Walden	LB	Knee	Probable

Player	Position	Injury	Game Status
LeGarrette Blount	RB	--	--
Tom Brady	QB	Ankle	Probable
Julian Edelman	WR	Concussion	Probable
Jonas Gray	RB	Ankle	Probable
Brandon LaFell	WR	Shoulder	Probable

The Quarterbacks

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

This game will come down to quarterback play, as did the two previous AFC bouts. Indy beat Denver because Luck was far better than Manning. New England beat Baltimore because Brady made fewer mistakes than Joe Flacco, which led to more opportunities for the Patriots.

Luck and Brady will be in direct competition again, even if they'll never be on the field at the same time. If you recall, the Pats rocked Indianapolis in Week 11, 42-20. It wasn't pretty, as Jonas Gray rushed for four scores and the Colts managed just 19 yards on the ground.

This put the pressure on Luck to essentially do it all himself, something he wasn't able to do without a running game to lean on. Daniel Herron has since emerged as a capable option, and Luck has played better recently as a result.

Brady has been steady for most of the season. He's as hot now as he has been all season, especially after tossing for 367 yards against Baltimore. Wide receiver Brandon LaFell told Christopher L. Gasper of The Boston Globe that Brady is pulling all the right strings: "He is putting us in the right plays. He is just going out there spreading the ball around and making plays for us."

Usually, receivers make plays for their quarterbacks. But it's the other way around for the Patriots. Brady is the one who puts his wideouts in positions to succeed. They just need to give him the smallest window to throw through, and he'll make something happen.

Don't take your eyes off either Luck or Brady. Both have explosive offenses capable of marching down the field in a hurry. Luck is still prone to silly mistakes given his youth, though, and that could very well be his downfall in the biggest game of his career.

Daniel Herron

David Zalubowski/Associated Press

Herron is turning it on when it matters. Selected in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL draft, Herron rushed 78 times during the regular season, accumulating 351 yards and a touchdown. He added in 21 catches for 173 yards.

ESPN Stats & Info points out that he has already produced more value during the playoffs:

The Colts' ability to run effectively is imperative to their overall success. Without a running game, Luck is asked to throw the ball upward of 40 times per game. That's far too many.

Herron isn't going to run a team into the ground. He has just 119 yards rushing in the postseason on 35 carries. But he has those two scores and has contributed 117 receiving yards on 18 catches. His versatility is the glue that has made the Colts so effective lately.

He's a smaller back (5'10", 212 pounds) who doesn't necessarily use brute force or blinding speed to make defenders miss. He's just elusive enough to break a few tackles here and there, but it's his sure hands and good decisions that make him effective.

Because he can line up anywhere, defenses have to monitor him at all times. This allows other weapons to take advantage of a sometimes lackadaisical defense.

Herron doesn't need to run for 100 yards against New England, but he has to touch the ball at least 20 times and make something happen with each opportunity. If he manages 100 yards from scrimmage, then the Colts will compete against the No. 1 seed in the conference.

Danny Amendola

Elise Amendola/Associated Press

Danny Amendola didn't record more than three receptions in a game until Week 16 against the New York Jets. In two games since, he has at least four.

That game against New York represented his season breakthrough. He caught eight of 11 targets for 63 yards. He then caught 4-of-7 for 24 yards in Week 17. While not flashy numbers, one must understand that this Amendola is leaps and bounds better than the Amendola of Weeks 1-15.

He was an extremely valuable weapon against the Ravens. He scored two touchdowns on five catches, including this 51-yard score on a trick play:

"

GIF: Brady to Edelman to Amendola and we're tied http://t.co/EnMWCYVgjX

— The Cauldron (@TheCauldron) January 11, 2015"

Amendola is turning it on at the right time. The Patriots offense was already clicking with Rob Gronkowski and LaFell doing most of the heavy lifting aside Brady, but adding another reliable option this late in the season simply isn't fair for opposing defenses.

The Colts secondary did a very good job against Manning, but his throws were weak, his reads were slow and his decisions were poor. Brady is playing at a very high level right now. Manning was not. This all adds up to bad news for Indianapolis.

Amendola doesn't have to be great for New England to win, but the fact that he now commands legitimate attention will pull defenders from the top options on the team. His presence on offense now is more strategically beneficial than anything else. Any production from him is a plus.

Prediction

The Broncos may have been the better seed, but the Colts are in a position to actually give the Patriots a run for their money. Bleacher Report's Nick Kostos agrees:

Does this mean they'll go into Foxborough and win? Maybe not, but it'll at least be fun to watch.

It's simply too difficult to defeat Brady in these situations. While this is potentially his weakest offense talent-wise in recent memory, he has the main contributors working in sync with each other. Brady can make anyone better, and that has been reinforced this season.

Luck is perhaps a consistent playmaker in the backfield away from really challenging the AFC's best. Herron is solid for how the team is structured now, but a big-time runner will push this team over the top.

A team lacking such a fundamental aspect of the offense won't be able to stop the juggernaut that is New England.

Prediction: Patriots win, 34-26

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @kennydejohn