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 The AFC South-leading Colts turned the ball over on their first
two possessions and three times during the first two quarters Sunday
in Lucas Oil Stadium but had more than enough to defeat the
struggling Washington Redskins, 49-27.
Luck threw first-half touchdown passes of 30 yards to tight end
Colby Fleener and 3 yards to wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, and running
back Daniel Herron ran 49 yards for a second-quarter TD as
Indianapolis grabbed a 21-10 halftime lead. Luck finished 19 of 27
for 370 yards and a career-best five touchdowns, averaging 19.5
yards per completion.
Luck broke Peyton Manning's franchise single-season record of nine
300-yard passing game with his 10th, and joined Manning and Dan
Marino as the only quarterbacks to pass for at least 4,000 yards in
two of their first three seasons.
Fleener finished with four catches for 127 yards and two TDs, and
wide recover Donte Moncrief had three receptions for 134 yards and
two touchdowns.
 Indianapolis ran only 49 plays but gained 487 yards, 9.9 yards per
snap.
"I had too many mistakes out there again, a bunch of stupid
mistakes," Luck said of his fumble and interception during the
game's first four minutes. "But the guys trusted me to bounce back
from those. We were able to make some big plays.
"We were confident today that we could get some chunk plays as we
say. We did a great job of finding a rhythm. I think our tempo
helped in those big plays. I wouldn't say we have come to depend on
big plays, but we have explosive players. When you see Fleener
running by a defensive back, and when you see our wide receivers
making monstrous plays, it happens. We have guys who are very
explosive. We also are capable of methodical drives and moving the
chains."
Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy, who replaced Robert Griffin III as
the team's starter this week, was 31 for 47 for 392 yards, three
touchdowns and no interceptions.
Coach Jay Gruden said McCoy will start again next week.
"I feel like he competed and did a good job out there," Gruden said.
"He came back and gave us a chance."
Gruden was not pleased with a secondary that surrendered 370 passing
yards.
"Players have to start stepping up and taking some accountability at
some point," Gruden said. "We've got to do a better job coaching.
But to have those guys wide open like that, it's unheard of on
simple coverage calls."
The Colts (8-4) drove 83, 80 and 68 yards for first-half touchdowns,
seizing a 21-3 lead with 6:53 remaining in the second quarter.
 Washington (3-9), which has lost four in a row, scored only three
points as the result of a Luck fumble on the game's first snap from
center and a Ryan Clark interception of a Luck pass the second time
Indianapolis had the ball.
The Redskins pulled within 21-10 with 1:59 remaining in the second
quarter on McCoy's 21-yard touchdown pass to running back Roy Helu
Jr., capping a nine-play, 84-yard drive.
Washington continued to apply the pressure with the first possession
of the third quarter, getting a 16-yard touchdown pass from McCoy to
right end Logan Paulsen at the 11:22 mark. The Redskins went 89
yards in eight plays to close to within 21-17.
Indianapolis needed only three plays to answer the Washington score,
getting a 48-yard touchdown pass from Luck to wide receiver Moncrief
with 10:05 left in the third period, extending its advantage to
28-17.
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"It was a great day," Moncrief said. "Luck gave me a lot of good
balls. I had to make big plays."
The Colts got what proved to be the game-clinching TD with 7:30
remaining in the third quarter when middle linebacker D'Qwell
Jackson scooped up a McCoy fumble at the Washington 35-yard line and
ran untouched for the score that extended the Indianapolis lead to
35-17.
The Redskins faced fourth-and-inches on the McCoy fumble and opted
for a play-action pass that backfired.
"The defense stepped up," Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said.
"Offensively, we didn't start the way we wanted to, but our defense
held them to a field goal after our first turnover, and then we had
a couple of big fourth-down stops. Our third-down defense was
excellent in the first half. Then we got tired in the second half
and gave up some yards, but we will managed to get a few stops."
McCoy came back to throw his third touchdown pass, a 42-yarder to
wide receiver DeSean Jackson with 5:12 to go in a high-scoring third
quarter, trimming the deficit to 35-24. That Redskins drive covered
80 yards in six plays.
The wild third quarter continued with Luck's fourth touchdown pass,
a 73-yarder to college teammate Fleener with 4:45 on the clock. At
that point, Indianapolis led 42-24.
A 29-yard Kai Forbath field goal with 12:00 left in the fourth
quarter pulled the Redskins within 42-27.
Luck threw his fifth touchdown pass with 10:34 remaining, connecting
on a 79-yard scoring play over the middle to a wide open Moncrief
for a 49-27 lead. That brief three-play drive covered 80 yards.
NOTES: Indianapolis improved to 5-2 in Lucas Oil Stadium, losing
only to Philadelphia and New England ... The Colts lost CB Vontae
Davis with a concussion in the third quarter ... Inactive for
Indianapolis were TE Weslye Saunders, OLB Andy Studebaker, G Lance
Louis, G Hugh Thornton, T Xavier Nixon, TE Dwayne Allen and NT Zach
Kerr ... The Redskins' inactives were QB Kirk Cousins, WR Aldrick
Robinson, CB E.J. Biggers, G Spencer Long, DE Stephen Bowen, T Tyler
Polumbus and WR Leonard Hankerson ... Muncie, Ind., native and
former Purdue University standout OLB Ryan Kerrigan suffered a
third-quarter wrist injury for the Redskins and missed the rest of
the game ... The teams combined for 35 third-quarter points ...
Indianapolis has only one more regular-season home game, an AFC
South date with the Houston Texans on Dec. 14 ... Colts QB Andrew
Luck completed only two third-quarter passes in three attempts, but
each completion was a touchdown ... Redskins QB Colt McCoy was 15 of
18 for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the third quarter, compiling
a passer rating of 151.2
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