Andrew Luck’s going to be a great NFL quarterback one of these days.
But he ran into the best in the business again Sunday night.
The Patriots extended their undefeated streak against Luck in the Colts, and are headed to the Super Bowl after a dominant 45-7 win in the AFC Championship Game.
That sets up a Super Bowl XLIX matchup with the Seahawks, in a battle of one seeds.
The Patriots’ formula for beating the Colts was as simple as it was effective.
They ran the ball well, their secondary was able to silence the Colts’ receiving weapons, and oh, that Brady guy.
The quarterback of our generation’s advancing to his sixth Super Bowl, and did some of his best work in a deluge in the second half. He was 23-of-35 passing for 226 yards with three touchdowns to overshadow an early interception.
It was his seventh career playoff game with at least three touchdowns, and only some guy named Joe Montana (nine) has more.
Coupled with another physical ground game, they were able to pummel the Colts as they have so many times before.
As Jonas Gray did during the regular season, it was LeGarrette Blount again this time. Blount finished with 30 carries for 148 yards and three touchdowns.
Luck has lost each of his four games against the Patriots by at least 21 points.
Part of that’s on him, as he threw two interceptions and was 12-of-33 for 126 yards.
But there’s more to it than Luck having an off night.
The Colts were overmatched, and much of that has to do with personnel decisions. Injuries are one thing, but they entered the game with the guys they spent their last two first-round picks on (outside linebacker Bjoern Werner and running back Trent Richardson) on their inactive list.
As good as Luck is, he can only drag a roster so far on his own, and this was again as far as he could take it.