Andrew Luck had his best season so far in 2014 throwing a league leading 40 regular season touchdowns and leading the Colts to the AFC Championship game. In this article we’ll take a look at some of Luck’s best touchdowns and see part of what gave him such a great season and why he’s still poised to get even better.
Before we go into Luck’s plays, let’s take a look at some of the stats on Luck’s TDs.
Receiver Breakdown
| Dwayne Allen | 9 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 7 |
| Coby Fleener | 7 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | 6 |
| Hakeem Nicks | 5 |
| Donte Moncreif | 4 |
| Reggie Wayne | 2 |
| Jack Doyle | 2 |
| Anthony Castonzo | 1 |
Quarter Breakdown
| 1st Quarter | 9 |
| 2nd Quarter | 11 |
| 3rd Quarter | 14 |
| 4th Quarter | 9 |
Down Breakdown
| 1st Down | 13 |
| 2nd Down | 13 |
| 3rd Down | 16 |
| 4th Down | 1 |
Route Breakdown
| Go/Stop-n-Go/Out-n-Up | 14 |
| Slant/Drag | 4 |
| Block and Release | 4 |
| Post | 3 |
| Swing Route | 3 |
| HB Out/HB Angle | 3 |
| Flat | 3 |
| Out/In Route | 3 |
| Curl | 2 |
| Fade | 1 |
| Corner | 1 |
| Comeback | 1 |
| Deep Zig | 1 |
Location Breakdown
| Deep Left | 3 | Deep Middle | 0 | Deep Right | 10 |
| Intermediate Left | 1 | Intermediate Middle | 2 | Intermediate Right | 1 |
| Short Left | 12 | Short Middle | 3 | Short Right | 11 |
Distance Breakdown
| Fewer than 6 yards | 14 |
| Between 6 and 15 yards | 11 |
| Greater than 15 yards | 18 |
As these stats show, the Colts really like going for the long ball to get their points. With speedy wide receivers like T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncreif Luck had no problem finding his receivers in space on deep routes. However, Luck’s receivers did just as much work for him at times, catching short passes and turning them in big plays. Coby Fleener and Dwayne Allen had several of these plays for themselves and were great assets for Luck to have on short passes.
Touchdown #2
Situation: 3rd and 2, ball on DEN 41
Description: (Shotgun) A.Luck pass short right to D.Allen for 41 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Offensive Formation: Shotgun Trips Left
Defensive Formation: Nickel Cover 1
On this play Luck’s primary target is Allen, but when he slips Luck quickly tries to find another open receiver. He sees no one open so he tries to buy some time and rolls to his right away from his other receivers. The OLB comes out to contain, but Luck is able to spot Allen gaining separation and throw the ball perfectly to his chest and put enough speed behind it that the covering linebacker can’t catch up to it.
Touchdown #12
Situation: 2nd and 8, ball on TEN 28
Description: (Run Formation) A.Luck pass deep left to R.Wayne for 28 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Offensive Formation: Singleback 3 TEs
Defensive Formation: 3-4 Cover 2 Man
Luck drops back on this play and shows off his accuracy. Reggie Wayne isn’t going to beat his man into the endzone so Luck throws it behind him to Wayne’s back shoulder. Luck correctly identifies the coverage on this play and freezes the safeties causing the free safety to play too shallow to interfear with the throw and making the correct pass to Wayne where only he can catch it. This throw is also a great example of the arm strength that Luck has as he rifles the ball to Wayne from 30 yards away.
Touchdown #15
Situation: 3rd and GOAL, ball on BAL 6
Description: (Run Formation) A.Luck pass short left to D.Allen for 6 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
Offensive Formation: Strong I-Formation
Defensive Formation: 3-4 Base Cover 2 Man
This play is an excellent example of how well Luck goes through his progressions. He starts on his right and makes a quick jump to the middle, then finds Dwayne Allen on his left and makes the quick decision to get the ball to him. Luck’s footwork on this play is just fantastic as well. You can notice that he alternates his set foot to allow him to always have one foot planted and ready to throw. Much like Peyton Manning, Luck dances around in the backfield on this play and is able to set and fire very quickly.
