LONDON – Were more than 80,000 people inside of Wembley Stadium about to see the vintage Andrew Luck, who has orchestrated a variety of fourth-quarter comebacks in his short NFL career?
Sunday had the feeling of that after the Colts dug themselves a 17-point hole.
Down 17 with less than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, things looked pretty uninviting for those on the visiting sideline.
The Colts, playing with three rookie offensive linemen and without their mismatch receiver, had slugged their way offensively all afternoon.
Luck was under duress early and often, eliminating any vertical passing game for the Colts.
In fact, before Luck and the offense found a spark late, the longest non-screen completion for the Colts was just seven yards on Sunday.
Things finally began to change once the Jaguars' took a 23-6 lead.
Chester Rogers' first NFL snag, a 19-yard reception, was the early spark on a late third-quarter drive that was aided by two Jaguars' penalties.
After cutting the deficit to 23-13, the Colts got another crack at it a few minutes later.
This time Luck and T.Y. Hilton converted a pair of third downs, the second of which came on a third-and-goal from the two-yard line.
The lead for Jacksonville now was just 23-20, with 7:13 remaining, and the Colts had plenty of life.
Completions of 16, 15 and 42 yards for the Jaguars though resulted in a quick, 2:03, touchdown drive.
At this point of the game, the shortage of entertainment wasn't absent.
A busted coverage from the Jaguars sprung free the speedy Phillip Dorsett on a 64-yard touchdown.
The lead was back down to three points and the defense for Indy was able to produce a final three-and-out with 2:41 left.
Another big play from Rogers got the Colts moving.
Things began to stall out near midfield, with the Colts facing a fourth-and-one at the Jaguars' 49-yard line and the clock ticking under two minutes.
But Luck's final attempt to Dwayne Allen fell incomplete.
It was a play Allen felt he should have had.
Luck had some green grass in front of him, but thought the play to Allen was the higher percentage.
"I thought the best way to get that first down was to pop it to Dwayne," Luck said after the 30-27 loss. "The (defender) made a nice play."
It was the last (realistic) chance the Colts would have in London to escape with a division victory.
"(Luck) has the option and he took what the defense gave us," Chuck Pagano said after the loss. "The play was there to be made. We've got to throw, we've got to catch.
"They executed. We didn't."
Now the Colts return to Lucas Oil Stadium two games behind the Texans' lead at the top of the AFC South.
Before the Colts look at any schedule and start counting what lies ahead, it's time to take care of Monday-Saturday.
"We've got to be more professional," Luck said in his post-game presser. "In a sense, as players, understand our role, our job, and do our job…and the positive thing is I think we can.
"I think we can, but it's certainly something that has to be fixed."
