Talk » The Indianapolis Colts have Andrew Luck healthy

NASHVILLE Chris Lindstrom Jersey , Tenn. (AP) — and throwing the ball all over the field.That’s more than enough with an injured Marcus Mariota stuck watching from the Tennessee sideline.Luck threw for 285 yards and three touchdowns and the Colts beat the Titans 33-17 on Sunday night for the final spot in the postseason as the AFC’s No. 6 seed.Article continues below ...With the Texans winning the AFC South title earlier Sunday with a victory over Jacksonville, that left the Colts and Titans playing for the second wild-card berth and a visit to Houston on Saturday.“It’s been a lot of fun,” Luck said. “It’s been a journey, that’s for sure. I think what this team is doing is enjoying the journey.”Luck remained perfect against Tennessee, notching his 11th victory for the most wins by a quarterback since at least 1970 to win his first 11 starts against one franchise. He helped the Colts (10-6) — under first-year coach Frank Reich — end their postseason drought by winning for the ninth time in 10 games after a 1-5 start.“I mean you’re 1-5, and that’s special,” Reich said. “It not only takes the whole team for 10 weeks, so that’s very special.”The Titans (9-7) snapped a four-game winning streak with Mariota sidelined by neck and foot injuries. They missed a second straight playoff berth under first-year coach Mike Vrabel.“We made a decision that Marcus wasn’t going to play tonight http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-kaleb-mcgary-jersey ,” said Vrabel, who gave no details on when the decision not to start Mariota was made nor the seriousness of his injury. “We’ll continue to evaluate him and try to worry about his health and every one of those guys’ health — Marcus included.”The Colts intercepted two of Blaine Gabbert’s passes in the final 9:05 to finish off their 13th win in the last 15 games in the series.Marlon Mack ran for 119 yards and a TD for the Colts. Adam Vinatieri kicked field goals of 53 and 25 yards. The NFL’s oldest active player missed his final extra point.Derrick Henry, who took the Titans’ first offensive snap out of the wildcat, finished with 93 yards.Tennessee was missing three defensive starters with four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jurrell Casey placed on injured reserve Monday and linebacker Brian Orakpo scratched for a third straight game. That left the Titans unable to pressure Luck even with the Colts missing center Ryan Kelly because of a neck injury.And Luck simply shredded a Tennessee defense that came in as the NFL’s No. 2 scoring defense giving up just 18 points a game and sixth against the pass.He drove the Colts 92 yards before hitting Dontrelle Inman with an 11-yard TD pass and finished off a 90-play drive that used up nearly 10 minutes with a 9-yard pass to Eric Ebron. That left the Colts up 14-0, having held the ball for nearly 17 of the first 21 minutes.Luck also added a 1-yard TD toss to Ryan Hewitt on the opening drive of the third quarter for a 24-10 lead.“The most satisfying thing is to walk in the locker room, look at your teammate and say, ‘We did it,’ and we did it Kendall Sheffield Jersey ,” Reich said. “Those are three of the best words that you can ever say to your teammate. To me, that’s really the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.”Titans linebacker Jayon Brown almost singlehandedly kept the Colts from putting the game away before halftime.Brown returned an interception 22 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. After Adoree Jackson inexplicably grabbed at a bouncing punt that put the Colts at the Tennessee 9, the Colts had a TD run by Mack erased by a holding penalty on center Evan Boehm. Two plays later, Brown stripped Mack of the ball and recovered it.Ryan Succop kicked a 38-yard field goal that pulled Tennessee to 17-10 at halftime. Gabbert threw a 22-yard TD pass to Luke Stocker to pull the Titans to 24-17 late in the third quarter.INJURIESThe already banged-up Titans had tight end Luke Stocker leave with an injured knee early in the second quarter followed by receiver Tajae Sharpe being helped to the sideline with an ankle. Stocker returned. Sharpe didn’t.Colts defensive end Tyquan Lewis hurt his knee late in the first half and did not return. Colts receiver Ryan Grant hurt a toe.FLYING FLAGSThe Colts would have won by a bigger margin if not for penalties that wiped out not one, but two touchdowns. They at least salvaged a Vinatieri field goal after Jordan Wilkins‘ TD run in the fourth quarter was erased by a formation penalty. The Colt were flagged 12 times for 96 yards. The Titans, who came in as the NFL’s least penalized team, finished with nine penalties for 75 yards.UP NEXT:Colts: Wild-card game in Houston on Saturday.Titans: Try to get Mariota healthy and find a better backup. Dak Prescott couldn’t duplicate his remarkable rookie year even when fellow first-year star Ezekiel Elliott wasn’t suspended.

Now the quarterback-running back combo for the Dallas Cowboys will have to figure out how to get back to the playoffs in what could be a critical season for the future of coach Jason Garrett.

The Cowboys (9-7) missed the postseason a year after being the top seed in the NFC when Prescott had one of the best rookie seasons for a quarterback in NFL history and Elliott led the league in rushing.

Dallas can blame a slow start while Elliott used the courts to fight his six-game suspension over domestic violence allegations , and the three straight losses after he finally ran out of legal options.

All along http://www.falconsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-john-cominsky-jersey , Prescott often struggled, throwing more than three times as many interceptions with a passer rating nearly 20 points lower for an offense that dropped to 14th in the NFL from fifth.

”If you want to call it that,” Prescott said, still refusing as he had before the season to acknowledge the term ”sophomore slump” after a season-ending 6-0 win over Philadelphia with the Cowboys already eliminated from the playoffs.

”I think I played some of my best ball of my career this year and obviously I played some of my worst ball of my career this year. So you can call it what you want. But like I said, I learned from it and call it a growing year.”

Garrett has missed the playoffs in five of his seven full seasons, but owner and general manager Jerry Jones reiterated on his radio show Tuesday that Garrett will return.

Jones also said he planned to bring back offensive coordinator Scott Linehan and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli while suggesting there will be changes to the coaching staff.

But Jones has said he believes the Cowboys have the pieces to end a nearly 25-year run without a trip to the Super Bowl, or even an NFC championship game. A second straight season without the playoffs could be the end for Garrett.

”He certainly has the mentality of doing things differently,” Jones said. ”Again Qadree Ollison Jersey , not just to be doing them differently, but basically recognizing that we have got some things we need to do differently.”

Offseason story lines for the Cowboys, who have alternated between making and missing the playoffs the past four seasons:

ALL IN WITH DAK: Jones and Garrett still speak about Prescott in terms of a franchise quarterback. He’s an extreme bargain as a fourth-round pick, and next offseason will be the first time they have to think about his second contract. If the Cowboys flop again, it will be an interesting dilemma. ”We think he’s an awfully good quarterback to have leading your franchise,” Garrett said.

ELLIOTT OFF THE FIELD: With the NFL investigation that led to a suspension still looming last offseason, Elliott had trouble keeping his name out of the headlines. He was caught on video pulling down a woman’s shirt during a St. Patrick’s Day parade – an incident that was referenced in the league’s letter detailing his punishment, although it wasn’t a factor in the ruling.

A quiet offseason will be an important step in putting the suspension behind him. ”I think he’s aware how difficult it was this year in terms of things off the field Marquise Brown Jersey ,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said on his radio show Tuesday. ”I’m more convinced than ever that he wants to be a great player in this league.”

DECLINING DEZ: There’s no question that receiver Dez Bryant is trending downward since his All-Pro season in 2014, which earned him a $70 million, five-year deal. He hasn’t come close to a 1,000-yard season and probably has one year left to prove he’s worth the big contract. Bryant said he battled knee tendinitis and frustration over his role in the offense.

CLASS OF 2014: The top three topics on contracts during the offseason are the Cowboys’ top three picks in 2014: right guard Zack Martin; defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who tied for second in the NFL with 14+ sacks; and linebacker Anthony Hitchens. The Cowboys want to get an extension done with Martin even though the two-time All-Pro has the fifth year on his rookie deal remaining. Lawrence could get the franchise tag.

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Corrects previous version with Tuesday for comments from Jerry Jones, not Monday.

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