INDIANAPOLIS – Was this really Monday Night Football?
Because it sure looked like an August afternoon in Anderson, Indiana
For virtually all of Monday night, Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton worked like they were playing pitch and catch during a 7-on-7 Training Camp practice at Anderson University.
Massive separation from Hilton and pinpoint accuracy from Luck led to one of the duo's finest outings in five seasons together.
Hilton caught 9 of his 10 targets from Luck on Monday for 146 yards.
"I just wanted (Luck) to know I'm going to be there," Hilton said after his 22nd career 100-yard receiving game. "Whenever he needs a security blanket, I'm going to be there for him."
Luck and Hilton found a rhythm early on Monday.
Past matchups against the Jets have not been favorable for Luck.
In two previous meetings (2012 and 2015), Luck had two of the worst passer ratings of his career, hovering just above 50 in each loss.
Those numbers were obliterated on Monday.
With a 22-of-28, 278-yard, four-touchdown performance, Luck was near a perfect passer rating all night long.
He finished Monday with a career-high passer rating of 147.6.
Welcome back, No. 12.
"It's always great to have your starting quarterback under center," Pagano said after the 41-10 victory. "We know he's a talented guy but it goes back to his preparation and he does a great job week in and week out. He does not like to not be available for his teammates and he hated missing that (Steelers') game.
"It's great to have him back."
Hilton's night pushed him past the 1,000-yard plateau for the season. Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown and Hilton are the NFL's only receivers to record 1,000-yard seasons each of the past four years.
Monday night was just another reminder that Luck and Hilton are both well on their way to Pro Bowl seasons again in 2016.
During last year's December playoff push, the Colts could not find any offensive consistency with Luck on the sideline.
Luck's back for this run and that's not good news for the Texans and Titans.
"We knew we needed this game no matter what," Hilton said after the Colts evened their record at 6-6.
"The season was on the line. This was a game we had to get for next week. We wanted to get back atop of the AFC South. We did that."
