Jets Out Of Luck? Maybe Not

Why even play tonight’s game? Andrew Luck is obviously unbeatable, infallible and immaculate, so can’t we just put a “1” in the Jets’ loss column and save the three hours of heartbreak? Hey, it’s not like .500 is anything to sneeze at.

Todd Bowles says playing against Luck is a nightmare. New Colts running back Frank Gore calls the fourth-year QB a “football god.” Donald Trump says Luck may be the only person on the planet greater than Trump himself. Or at least almost as great.

We get it. Luck is supremely talented. You just don’t get that combination of size, arm strength, athleticism, smarts and toughness very often. I’d be surprised if the QB doesn’t end up in the Hall of Fame one day, and I’ve felt that way (as have many, many others) since he was a sophomore at Stanford. I just think he’s not an immortal quite yet.

At 26, Luck is already one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL. But is he really as great as everyone seems to think? Is he better than Aaron Rodgers? Tom Brady? Russell Wilson? Ben Roethlisberger? Drew Brees?

Yes, Luck has gotten his team to the postseason every year. So has Andy Dalton. One has been deified, the other has been all but crucified. And yeah, I get it, Dalton stinks once he gets to the playoffs. Has anyone checked out Luck’s record in the postseason? In six games, Luck’s Colts have put a total of just 106 points on the board, and 45 of those came in one game.

That’s an average of 17.5 points per, or, in other words, even less than Gang Green averaged in their wretched 2014 campaign. Luck’s career playoff passer rating of 70.8 is Geno Smithesque, and even Smith would hold his nose at Luck’s 12 postseason INTs.

The Jets should have a tough time at Lucas Oil Field tonight. The fact is, the home team needs the win much more than the visitors. The Colts, a trendy Super Bowl pick, are reeling after a week 1 loss to the Bills in which Indy’s D made Buffalo QB Tyrod Taylor look like -- well, like a football god. Head coach Chuck Pagano and GM Ryan Grigson are said to be feuding, as both appear to be struggling to jump off what appears to be a pretty hot seat.

Still, the Colts have a lot of holes (hey, the seats are hot for a reason), and Luck, at least at this point, isn’t elite -- he’s just very good.

Maybe they should play the game tonight after all.

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