Andrew Luck needs Frank Gore to shine against Patriots

Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Andrew Luck has been quite possibly the worst-performing player at the position so far this season, as evidenced by the fact that Houston Texans QB Ryan Mallett is the only player with a worse QB Rating right now. Luck has thrown an interception on a whopping 6.0% of all of his pass attempts, and the offensive line struggles alone cannot be blamed for his ghastly 56.0% completion percentage.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Which player can the Colts least afford to lose?

It would be foolish to argue that Luck is no longer a great quarterback, but his three starts were undeniably awful. This makes me wonder if Luck’s recent two-week absence due to a shoulder injury was the effect of an injury that occurred even earlier, but that doesn’t explain the sheer number of mental errors Luck made.

More from Indianapolis Colts

The fourth-year pro will face a tough New England Patriots pass defense this week upon his return, and it would be a surprise for him to miss a third straight game, especially a game against the best team in the AFC. Luck’s had major issues with thwarting the Patriots in the past, so he’ll have to face two demons on Sunday Night Football: his struggles in the 2015 regular season and his past struggles against New England.

So far this season, the Patriots have allowed just 19.0 points per game, which is the seventh-lowest total in the NFL. Teams have thrown six interceptions to just six touchdowns on the Pats, who are also allowing the seventh-lowest net yards per pass attempt. The pass rush isn’t great, but it’s better than it was last season, especially with offseason addition Jabaal Sheard making an immediate impact.

Meanwhile, the secondary has held up surprisingly well, and that’s due to Malcolm Butler‘s strong play and the elite safety duo of Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon. Outside of Harrison Smith of the Minnesota Vikings, I can’t think of a safety who has played better than D-Mac this season, and fellow Rutgers product Harmon is one of the most underrated players at this position right now.

Based on Luck’s struggles and the fact that he might not be completely 100% against New England in Week 6, he could find it difficult to get the Indianapolis passing attack going. Andre Johnson showed signs of life against his old team in the Colts Thursday Night Football win, and both T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief have looked as good as expected this season.

But for the Colts, the key will be establishing a running game agains the Patriots. Veteran offseason addition Frank Gore was supposed to be a game-changer for the Colts offense, and I think you could make the case that only Hilton has been more important to this team’s success so far this season. He was instrumental in the Colts victory over the Texans last week, churning out 98 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown in what was his best game of the season.

The Colts knew they needed Gore as a workhorse, and the former San Francisco 49ers franchise icon has been exactly that. He’s putting up 4.3 yards per carry, 65.0 yards per game, and has three touchdowns through five games. Those are quality numbers, and you can only imagine what he’ll be able to produce from an efficiency standpoint when the Colts passing attack finally gets cooking.

Until then, he’ll be the one counted on to support Andrew Luck, and we’ll see an important example of that this week against the Patriots. The success of the Colts maligned defense against an elite offensive attack will be key, since the Pats have prevented other teams from establishing a running game because of their rapid success on offense.

Sep 27, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) signals from the line during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium. Indianapolis won 35-33. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

That’s overshadowed their major struggles on run defense. Although Ben Roethlisberger is the only quarterback to have any success against the Patriots through the air, most running backs haven’t had issues with producing against the Pats. This defense is surrendering a whopping 4.7 yards per carry, and that’s something the Colts, who know a thing or two about struggling in run defense when these two teams play each other, will absolutely have to take advantage of if they want to win this battle between AFC heavyweights.

Luck needs Frank Gore to keep up his hard-nosed roll and produce back-to-back star performances, because the matchup is right there for the taking. Beating the Patriots is a tall task, so the way the Colts will have to pull off the upset is by delivering a more well-rounded performance. They signed Gore for multiple reasons, but one of the most important ones was to achieve the balance on offense that would allow them to beat a team like the Patriots.

Next: Who are the greatest coaches in NFL history?

More from NFL Spin Zone

Home/Indianapolis Colts