Thursday Night Football: Andrew Luck for MVP?

Oct 5, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws a pass against the Baltimore Ravens at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck might have a problem at times throwing the football to the wrong team. Somehow, it’s hard to argue for many more players as more valuable to their team as the third year star out of Stanford.

Luck has six interceptions this season, three of which came in the team’s first two games when they were 0-2. The other set of three interceptions have come in their more recent two games, which they are 2-0. The simple fact of the matter is, unlike the first game, Luck has been able to will his team to victory despite the rest of their shortcomings throughout the game.

It’s evident when you watch the Colts. Luck drives the bus, he pays everyones admission onto the bus, and he does it all with a big, goofy smile on his face.

Is this guy crazy, or just crazy good? He’s crazy good.

Luck narrowly missed two victories to start the season, and how quickly has he erased an 0-2 start? That seems like an eternity ago. Through five games, the Colts are 3-2 and Luck is either tearing defenses apart, making huge plays at clutch times, or both. He has 14 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns so far this season, never having less than two touchdowns in one game in any he’s played so far this season. He’s in complete command of the Colts’ offense. He’s had three straight games with over 300 yards passing and 65 percent completion percentage.

In essence, he’s proving to everyone what we evaluated from 2009-2011 at Stanford — this is the next great quarterback, the guy every team would want to build their franchise around.

Unfortunately for the Colts, they haven’t done a great job of the latter. This is not a team devoid of talent by any means, but the Colts certainly don’t have the best supporting cast around Andrew Luck right now, and I think they know it. Ryan Grigson has taken a lot of risks as their general manager, from trading for Trent Richardson to signing a huge variety of players from other professional leagues and backgrounds.

It’s likely to all result in Luck carrying this team to its third straight postseason appearance after letting go of Peyton Manning, and the fact over those three years has remained a constant: This team will go as far as Andrew Luck will carry it. Plain and simple.

And I think he can carry it far. I don’t mean to spoil anything, but starting tonight on Thursday Night Football, I think he brings it to at least 4-2. The Colts are playing on the road in Houston this week, and Houston is playing just well enough this year that a fired up, rowdy home crowd could possibly carry this team to what I would consider an upset over the Colts, but I see Andrew Luck and company improving to 4-2 on the season and their fourth straight win.

And the legend around luck as an MVP candidate will only continue to grow. Right now, there aren’t many players that mean more to their team than Luck. He’s using his arm, his legs, and the Colts are winning games. The MVP race is heating up, but Luck can make a statement in prime time on the road against a solid divisional opponent.