The English language doesn't contain enough words to effectively describe what it's like to witness Andrew Luck play quarterback.
In Saturday's 43-22 loss to the New England Patriots, Luck dropped some of the best dimes of the postseason. The pocket-climbing wonder made ridiculous passes with defenders draped on him all night.
Luck was fantastic. But on this night, against this team, he needed to be perfect.
He wasn't.
Luck threw four interceptions. Two led directly to Patriot touchdowns. The pick-a-palooza came a week after he threw three interceptions prior to leading a furious comeback in the wild-card round.
Luck leads a gaggle of young superstar quarterbacks. His combination of intelligence, pinpoint passing, pocket presence and tenacity make him a lethal signal-caller.
However, he is still learning to win in the playoffs. In three playoff games, Luck has eight interceptions. The postseason is a different beast. The stakes are higher, competition better and mistakes magnified.
Saturday night illustrated the ebbs and flows of a young quarterback forced to carry a team that would be drafting in the top 10 of the 2014 NFL Draft without him.Â
For large portions of the game, he outdueled the immortal Tom Brady. He gained chunk yardage, passing for 331 yards, despite completing just 20 of 41 passes.
Brady, however, had a running game and made no mistakes.
Whether fair or not, right now the Colts go as Luck goes. Saturday he missed more plays than he hit.
Entering his third season, Luck should be mentioned with the top quarterbacks in the league. But this game reminded us that postseason success is not a given.
Luck is not the first brilliant quarterback to wear a horseshoe helmet who took a few tries to figure out the playoffs.
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