SEATTLE — Tonight we saw Andrew Luck under center for the Indianapolis Colts for the first since since Jan. 1, 2017 — 585 days, to be exact.
Although for the most part we have seen him look like the Andrew Luck of old throughout training camp, we have not seen him in a live game situation. How would he look against a Seattle Seahawks defense that could legitimately pressure and hit him?
Pretty darn crisp, as it turns out.
Luck went 6-for-9 passing with 64 yards and was sacked once, and also had one carry for one yard. He saw two drives — lasting just into the second quarter — both of which resulting in Adam Vinatieri field goals. The first was from 33 yards, and the second from 51.
"I was excited, I was nervous, and I had butterflies in my stomach," Luck said. "It's fun. I did not know what this day would feel like. And yes, it's just a preseason game, but it's still a game. And, it was just a lot of fun to be out there with my buddies."
Specifically on his early self-evaluation, Luck told Cann that "some things felt really, really good, and some things I know we've got to work on."
Luck's first pass was a quick dump-off to running back Marlon Mack, who promptly took it 17 yards down the right sideline for a first down.
On the opening drive, Luck led a 12-play, 60-yard scoring drive spanning five minutes and 38 seconds, ending in a Vinatieri field goal.
Luck got his long-awaited first hit when he took off on a one-yard run and was taken down by Seahawks All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner. After, Luck hopped up with a big smile on his face, embracing the fact that he could actually get hit again in an NFL game. He would later get sacked during the second drive.
Overall, Luck looked sharp and made some good decisions. The team got to see him make some adjustments at the line pre-snap, and the offense moved pretty quickly. Luck got the ball out of his hand without much delay. There were a few plays where the Seahawks defense really pressured him and had good coverage on Luck's pass-catchers, leading to some incompletions.
Luck seems to have a solid comfort level with head coach Frank Reich and offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni's new offense, saying, "I thought we did some things well as an offense. Obviously, we'd like to get seven (points) when we're in the red zone, but it was fun and it felt sharp. It felt like it flowed well."
While Luck and the first-team offense were on the field, Mack had four carries for nine yards and two receptions for 23 yards. Robert Turbin had four carries for 20 yards and one reception for 14 yards. T.Y. Hilton, Jack Doyle and Chester Rogers all each had one reception as well.
Mack left the game during the end of the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return.
In two drives, Luck and the first-team offense totaled 87 yards on 19 plays. They converted six first downs, going just 1-of-4 on third downs, however. They did convert their only fourth down attempt.
