Andrew Luck Isn't Enough to Mask Indianapolis Colts' Obvious, Crippling Flaws

They might win the AFC South by default, and maybe they'll even win a wild-card game. But the Indianapolis Colts are not AFC contenders with their current blueprint, and their performance on Sunday Night Football only proved how far off they are.

The final score read 34-27 in favor of the New England Patriots, which isn't a completely fair description of how it played out. It never evolved into the blowout that many predicted, but the Colts still sent those in Lucas Oil Stadium home feeling empty-handed.

Quarterback Andrew Luck's return came just in time for him to face off in this highly anticipated AFC Championship Game rematch, and the Colts needed every bit of it. Still, his 30 completions for 312 yards and three touchdowns weren't quite enough to offset a myriad of other issues.

The most striking of those issues was right in front of Luck. His offensive line struggled worse than it has all season—and that's saying something—against New England, allowing Luck to be sacked three times and constantly undercutting Colts drives with holding calls.

Throughout a woeful third quarter that saw the Patriots take over the game, holding calls killed Indianapolis, as George Bremer of The Herald Bulletin noted:

Frank Gore more than pulled his weight offensively with 78 yards on 13 carries, but he could have touched the 100-yard plateau had it not been for holding calls. On top of providing poor pass protection, the O-line didn't do Gore any favors on a night he had it going.

If the Colts' offensive front isn't going to hold up, there are many losses ahead. Atlanta, Denver and Carolina are all on tap in the next four games, all of which boast scary front sevens.

Speaking of front sevens, the Colts' unit needed a big outing to thwart Tom Brady and take the flow away from his offense. Despite doing that at times, the defense still allowed six scoring drives from the Pats.

John Minchillo/Associated Press

Mike Adams returned an interception to the house, but that wouldn't have even been possible without Julian Edelman bobbling the ball into his grasp. Despite that turnover, Brady still threw for over 300 yards and three scores.

No matter what the Colts do defensively from here on out, they'll be judged by their inability to slow their AFC rivals, as ESPN Stats & Info noted:

For all the lack of success the Colts have had in the Luck era against the Pats, they were as close as they've been late in the third quarter of this one. Trailing 27-21, the Colts lined up to punt it back to the Patriots—if only it were that simple.

Instead of punting it away, Indianapolis' special teams unit lined up in an odd formation with a snapper, quarterback and the entire team out wide right. What already looked like a bizarre coaching call turned catastrophic when Griff Whalen snapped the ball to Colt Anderson, resulting in a turnover on downs.

That gave the Patriots the ball in scoring territory, and Brady quickly cashed in to give the Pats a 34-21 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Head coach Chuck Pagano tried to explain after the game but didn't do himself any favors in the process, as SportsCenter noted:

The defense was doing its job at that point in the game, yet the head-scratching fake punt thing put it in a an untenable position. Sure, the offense was struggling at that point—but the call Pagano made was game-management suicide.

As a result, the Colts made themselves look foolish in a game in which many expected the opposition to do that, as NFL Network's Jeff Darlington quipped:

Take into account the fact that the quarterback can't get any help from his offensive line, throw in a defense that gives up too many long drives and tie it all together with a coaching staff that can't put the offense in favorable spots and makes inexplicable gaffes. The results of all of that typically produce a cellar-dwelling team, even with a star at quarterback.

Well, perhaps that isn't reality for these 3-3 Colts. Despite their immense issues and struggles against the AFC's elite, they're still sitting pretty in the NFL's worst division and will cruise to a playoff home game with Tennessee, Houston and Jacksonville the only competition, per NFL Network's Daniel Jeremiah:

That last part is true—the Colts will most certainly be judged by what they do in the postseason. But nothing they've shown throughout six weeks shows that they'll be capable of topping their AFC title run from a year ago, if they can even get close to that.

Indianapolis followed up two season-opening defeats by scratching out wins over its lowly AFC South opposition. The most impressive thing the Colts have done this year is finish within a touchdown of the mighty Patriots, but even amid that "accomplishment," they found a way to put a negative spin on their status as contenders.

Upcoming matchups against the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers before their Week 10 bye will go a long way toward telling where these Colts stand. If they can't make a convincing statement before then, this will look more and more like a lost season in Indianapolis.