HOUSTON — A year ago at this time, Andrew Luck was at home struggling with an injured shoulder that cost him the entire season.
On Saturday the Colts quarterback wrote a happy ending to the latest chapter of his comeback season, throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns and Indianapolis raced out to a big lead and cruised to a 21-7 win over the Texans in an AFC wild-card game.
Luck put on a show in his hometown in a stadium where he has played since he was in high school, throwing for 191 yards and two touchdowns before halftime to help the Colts (11-6) build a 21-0 lead.
He denied feeling “at home” at NRG Stadium, but admitted to having warm feelings for the city in which he grew up and where his grandparents and many friends still reside.
“But it’s still an away stadium,” he said. “It was very loud, very energetic, but fun to win, certainly.”
Running back Marlon Mack had 148 yards and a touchdown for Indianapolis, which advanced to face the top-seeded Chiefs in the divisional round next weekend.
“We know we have an elite quarterback and we can throw it for 400 and win when we have to,” Colts coach Frank Reich said. “But the margin for error in playoff football when you try to do it that way is very thin. When you can win like this — running the football and stopping it — that’s just everything.”
The Texans (11-6), who overcame an 0-3 start to win the AFC South, gave up too many big plays and couldn’t get anything going on offense in the first half to fall into the huge hole.
Houston quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was sacked an NFL-leading 62 times in the regular season, was sacked three times and hit eight more in a disappointing playoff debut. He finished with 235 yards passing with a touchdown and an interception.
“Just a lack of execution on our part,” Watson said. “We didn’t make plays. I didn’t make plays. Communication was a little off. You just got to give the Colts the credit.”
The Colts, who opened the season 1-5, continued an impressive run with their fifth straight victory and the 10th time in 11 games. Saturday was their first playoff appearance since the AFC Championship loss at New England in the 2014 season that becamse known as the “Deflategate” game.
It was another good game in a splendid season for Luck. He threw for 4,593 yards and 39 touchdowns in the regular season after missing all of 2017 with a shoulder injury.
Houston didn’t score until rookie Keke Coutee grabbed a 6-yard touchdown pass to cap a 16-play, 89-yard drive that included a fourth-down conversion that cut it to 21-7 with about 11 minutes left.
The Texans led the NFL with nine comeback wins this season, but their attempt at a rally ended on their next possession when Watson’s pass on fourth-and-10 from the Colts’ 24 fell short with about four minutes left.
Luck threw for 863 yards with six touchdowns as the teams split two meetings in the regular season. He picked up right where he left off in this one, when he found Eric Ebron on a 6-yard TD pass on their first drive. He also threw an 18-yard TD pass to Dontrelle Inman in the second quarter that made it 21-0.