Andrew Luck threw four touchdown passes, two on the game’s first two drives, and there was never a doubt about Monday night’s result.
The Colts cruised to a 41-10 victory. Tight end Dwayne Allen caught those first two touchdown passes and a third later in the first half.
The Jets had three personal foul penalties in the first 20 minutes -- and it really didn’t get much better from there. Down 31-3 by the time they got the ball in the third quarter, Jets coach Todd Bowles inserted young quarterback Bryce Petty and removed Ryan Fitzpatrick, probably for the last time.
The Colts improve to 6-6 and are in a three-way tie atop the AFC South with the Texans and Titans.
It was a night of milestones for the Colts. Frank Gore passed Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett for eighth on the NFL’s all-time rushing list, T.Y. Hilton passed Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison for the most 100-yard receiving games (22) in the first five years of a career, and Allen became just the third tight end in franchise history to post a three-touchdown game.
It was Luck’s eighth career game with at least four touchdown passes.
The Colts thought they had another touchdown late in the first half but tight end Jack Doyle was ruled to have fumbled into the end zone for a touchback. That was about the only thing that went wrong for the Colts until veteran linebacker D’Qwell Jackson walked to the locker room after suffering a neck injury in the fourth quarter.
In addition being generally defenseless -- the Colts rolled up more than 400 yards of offense -- the Jets turned the ball over three times and didn’t get into the end zone until Petty threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to rookie Robby Anderson in the fourth quarter. They managed 116 yards and five first downs in the first half.
The Jets fall to 3-9 and figure to stick with Petty the rest of the way as they point towards 2017.