Colts Fall to Ravens In Luck's Return to Lucas Oil -

The Colts dropped their second preseason game of the season 20-19 to the Baltimore Ravens. Falling to 1-1 in Andrew Luck’s return to Indianapolis, the Colts struggled to get the offense moving for much of the game. Phillip Walker brought the game to one point late with a touchdown pass to Zach Pascal. Even when they found themselves in the red zone, they failed to convert those trips into points for most of the contest. Andrew Luck threw a boneheaded interception in the red zone and they failed on fourth down on the goal line.

Luck had a solid second game, making some great reads and making some not so great ones. He finished the day with 50 yards and a pick going 6-13. Jacoby Brissett had an excellent day, completing 14 passes on 24 throws for 189 yards. He looked tough in the pocket, made mostly good decisions with the ball, and extended plays with his legs on multiple occasions.

The offensive line struggled in pass protection and run blocking early in the game but found a stride with the backups. They allowed four sacks on the day. Rookie Braden Smith, who played mostly tackle, looked much improved on the day from his abysmal debut performance. Despite a lack of production (21 yards on seven carries) and endless scrutiny from Colts’ Twitter, Christine Michael had a sneaky solid game. He looked pretty shifty and explosive considering the offensive line didn’t do him any favors for much of the game.

Jordan Wilkins looked good running through holes, racking up 42 total yards on nine touches. Nyheim Hines continued to struggle, being a non-factor on offense and coughing up the ball multiple times. The Colts were sloppy with the ball and didn’t show the discipline that they showed against Seattle, recording 13 penalties for 129 yards.

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Chester Rogers had a good game and showed a great ability to make yards after the catch, recording 36 yards on two catches. Steve Ishmael had an excellent fourth quarter, putting his hands on display, catching two passes for 52 yards. Zach Pascal made an excellent touchdown catch on a fade route late in the fourth, finishing with 26 yards. Aside from them, the receivers struggled to create separation and struggled to secure the ball. The Colts’ tight ends all had very good games. Jack Doyle showed off his chemistry with Andrew Luck on two catches for 32 yards and Eric Ebron caught the ball four times. Ross Travis made a few nice plays, finishing with three catches for 29 yards.

The defensive line looked really solid at times, especially against the Ravens’ backups. They only generated three total sacks but routinely pressured Lamar Jackson, forcing him into uncomfortable situations. Hassan Ridgeway continued his stellar preseason in the run and pass defense, recording five tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and two hits. John Simon did a good job generating pressure off of the edge. Tarell Basham showed incredible effort in blocking a punt late in the fourth.

Matthew Adams and Zaire Franklin did a great job against Baltimore, flying all over the field and forcing a fumble. They finished with four and nine tackles respectively. Quincy Wilson did an excellent job in coverage and run defense, blanketing Baltimore receivers. Matthias Farley was excellent, deflecting a pass and finding the football exceptionally well. Clayton Geathers had a good day back, defending the run well and forcing a fumble. The secondary looked improved from a poor showing last week.

Despite the loss, there was plenty of good to take away from this loss against Baltimore. The Colts face the 49ers in their next preseason game on August 25th.

Ben Pfeifer is the Managing Editor of the Colts for Full Press Coverage, the AFC South Division Editor, and head NBA editor. Want to continue the discussion? Contact Ben Pfeifer on Twitter @Ben_Pfeifer_, @FPC_NBA and @FPC_Colts.