INDIANAPOLIS – The easy takeaway from what the Colts' offense showed in Sunday's season opener was Andrew Luck is still really good at football.
Now, that the obvious is out of the way, what else did we learn?
The starts do need to improve. And winning early downs, especially early in games, would do wonders for that cause.
But we also found out that the offensive line, with its starting five intact, can more than give Luck enough time to operate.
Luck was able to hit on chunk after chunk in Week One (Luck had four passes of at least 32 yards), helping the offense put up 450 yards, the most the unit has had since November 2014.
Another reason why Luck was able to have one of the finer performances in his handful of NFL seasons came from the guys he was distributing the football to on Sunday.
Names like Hilton, Moncrief, Allen and Gore did what they do.
But what about the other skill guys?
- Wide Receiver Phillip Dorsett:Was this Dorsett's best NFL game? He led the Colts with 94 receiving yards and made plays at balls in the air to really jumpstart the Indy offense. If Dorsett consistently puts together outings like Sunday, the rest of the league is going to quickly take note of one of the league's finest trios of receivers.
- Tight End Jack Doyle:The NFL's highest scoring fantasy football tight in Week One? Yep, Jack Doyle. Look, Doyle has made plays for the Colts before. But it was the type of plays he made on Sunday that stood out. These were contested catches in critical, critical situations. Doyle played more than 50 percent of the offensive snaps on Sunday, showing why the Colts felt comfortable bumping him up to a No. 2 tight end role with Coby Fleener now in New Orleans.
- Running Back Robert Turbin:The numbers weren't immense for Turbin on Sunday (three touches for 19 yards), but he had some timely third-down conversions. On the first drive of the second half, with the Colts down 21-10, Turbin had two third-down conversions, one via the ground and one via the air. The Colts have longed for a reliable backup at running back. If Turbin stays healthy, he's that guy.
- Running Back Josh Ferguson:Why were the Colts raving about Josh Ferguson this offseason? Sunday was a small glimpse into that. The Colts were not afraid to throw the undrafted rookie into game action when the offense really needed a spark. Ferguson had two catches for 26 yards on Sunday and played a role in things getting turned around offensively.
It was the depth of the skill positions on Sunday that backed up an individual performance at quarterback, plus improved line play, that could place this offense among the NFL's elite in 2016.
"That's the beauty of football," Luck said of eight different players catching at least two balls on Sunday.
"When guys have opportunities to make plays, they either do it or they don't. And guys did it (Sunday)."
