Andrew Luck Struggled Mightily in First Ever NFL Start

Published on September 30th, 2024 9:59 am EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


Andrew Luck was a generational quarterback prospect.

In fact, scouts were putting him in the same conversation as the likes of John Elway and Peyton Manning - can't miss prospects who were sure to immediately change the fortunes of the teams that were lucky enough to draft them.

The Indianapolis Colts, who owned the #1 overall pick thanks to a 2-14 season, announced well before the NFL Draft that Andrew Luck would be the first overall pick.

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Not every NFL debut for a can't-miss blue chip quarterback prospect like Andrew Luck goes according to plan. Not everybody can be Cam Newton, blowing up in their first NFL games.

NFL history is littered with Hall of Fame QBs that struggled mightily out of the game. Peyton Manning, at one point in his rookie season, had thrown four touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Lamar Jackson had major accuracy issues in his first few games. QBs, no matter how good they are, tend to struggle as they adjust to the speed of the NFL game.

Andrew Luck was no different.

On September 9th, 2012, Andrew Luck made his debut on the road against the Chicago Bears.

There was good and bad in Andrew Luck's debut performance.

The good was that he threw for 309 yards and 1 touchdown.

The bad was that he tossed three interceptions, was sacked three times and had a QB rating of 52.9.

Colts fans were likely rolling their eyes, thinking back to the early struggles that Peyton Manning had to endure before gaining his form.

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Unlike Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck turned things around extremely quickly.

In his second game, which the Colts won, Luck threw for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In his third game, which the Colts lost, Luck threw for 313 yards and 2 touchdowns.

In his fourth game, which the Colts won, Luck threw for 362 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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By the time his rookie campaign had ended, Luck had thrown for 4,374 yards, 23 touchdowns and 18 sacks.

Most importantly, the Colts made the playoffs with a record of 11-5-0 - an unbelievably quick turnaround for the franchise, largely thanks to Andrew Luck.