SportsDirect Inc. staff
Nov 30, 2014
Colts 49, Redskins 27: Andrew Luck threw a career-high five touchdown passes - two apiece to Coby Fleener and Donte Moncrief - as Indianapolis posted a home victory over Washington.
In a game that originally was hyped as Luck versus Robert Griffin III - the first two picks in the 2012 draft - the matchup lost a bit of its luster this week when Washington (3-9) benched Griffin in favor of Colt McCoy, who passed for a career-high 392 yards and three touchdowns. Luck, meanwhile, was 19-of-27 for 370 yards - his 10th game this season with at least 300 yards through the air.
Moncrief caught three passes for a career-high 134 yards while Fleener racked up 127 on four catches as the Colts (8-4) won for the third time in four games. T.Y. Hilton also caught a TD pass and Daniel Herron rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown for Indianapolis, which converted 5-of-8 third-down attempts.
The hosts began to create separation with three touchdowns in a 5 1/2-minute stretch of the third quarter - a 48-yard pass from Luck to Moncrief, a 35-yard fumble recovery for a score by D'Qwell Jackson and a 73-yard strike from Luck to Fleener, who broke two tackles en route to the end zone to push the Colts' lead to 42-24. Kai Forbath's 29-yard field goal three minutes into the fourth got the Redskins a bit closer, but Luck answered less than 90 seconds later with a 79-yard scoring strike to Moncrief to restore a commanding lead.
Luck's 30-yard TD pass to Fleener midway through the first put the Colts ahead before Herron's 49-yard scoring run and Luck's short scoring toss to Hilton made it 21-3. McCoy found Roy Helu Jr. for a 21-yard score late in the second quarter and connected with Logan Paulsen from 16 yards out early in the third to make it 21-17 before Indianapolis pulled away.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Luck became the fastest quarterback to reach 12,000 career passing yards, doing it in only 44 games. He also became the third Colts QB to throw for 4,000 yards in a season, joining Hall-of-Famer Johnny Unitas and future Canton inductee Peyton Manning. ... Redskins TE Jordan Reed, who missed last week's contest with a hamstring injury, returned to collect a team-high 123 yards on nine receptions. ... Washington RB Alfred Morris was limited to 67 yards on 17 carries as the Redskins lost their fourth straight game.