The Indianapolis Colts had to find a way to keep their emotions in check on Thursday night following such an emotional victory just four days prior.

Mission accomplished and then some.

After seeing head coach Chuck Pagano in the stadium on Sunday for the first time since he was diagnosed with leukemia early this season – and after listening to the powerful motivational speech he gave following their victory – the Colts (6-3) travelled to Jacksonville and coasted to their fourth straight win with a 27-10 wire-to-wire victory over the Jaguars (1-8).

In a sign of support for Pagano, Colts players shaved their heads during the week as he began the second phase of the treatment process.

Andrew Luck threw for 227 yards, an interception, no touchdowns, and lost a fumble, but his legs were responsible for the Colts two second quarter scores, as he ran five yards into the end zone at the 13:44 mark to extend Indianapolis’ lead to 10-0 and snuck in for a controversial one yard touchdown to make it 17-0 with 7:39 remaining in the half.

“This win was huge,” Luck said. “We wanted to keep our winning streak going. Jacksonville got us earlier this year. We didn’t want to go 0-2 against a team. This is a good step in the right direction, but no one looks back at the fact that you were 6-3 in the middle of the season. It’s what we do at the end of the season.”

On Luck’s second touchdown, the ball appeared to pushed backward, making it unclear whether or not it ever crossed the plane of the end zone. Jaguars head coach Mike Mularkey was livid once replay did not overturn the original call, and he flipped his headset and playbook to the ground as made his way onto the field to argue with the officials. He was immediately hit with a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

“I lost my composure because of it,” Mularkey said. “I knew it was going to be reviewed. I certainly thought the review would see what everybody else saw.”

Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert had 209 passing yards and was unable to put together a consistent drive. The lowest point of his night came in the third quarter when Indianapolis cornerback Darius Butler jumped a route on a pass toward the right sideline, picked it off and scampered 11 yards into the end zone.

“We’re so close but so far at the same time,” said Gabbert. “We get drives going and we have to make a play and we haven’t done that. We definitely didn’t do that tonight.”

Gabbert would be replaced by former Miami Dolphins starter and his backup, Chad Henne, after sustaining a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter. Henne completed 10 passes for 121 yards, one of which included a four yard touchdown pass to receiver Cecil Shorts to cut the lead to 24-10 with 9:16 left to go.

Butler also intercepted Henne inside the two minute mark and returned it 51 yards to the Jaguars 13 yard line to seal it.

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Rookie quarterbacks are supposed to simply ensure they’re the reason their team doesn’t lose the game, especially in the fourth quarter.

But halfway through the season, Andrew Luck, who broke Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s all-time record for passing yards in a single game with 433, has continuously shown no regard for that tradition time and time again.

In his case, he was a huge reason why the Indianapolis Colts (5-3) were able to take a 23-20 lead over the Miami Dolphins (4-4) with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter on Sunday. The defense made two stands the rest of the way, as the Colts held on to win by the same score.

Not only was Indianapolis able to already win its fifth game in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but they were able to do it in front of head coach Chuck Pagano, who made his way back to the building to watch his team in person for the first time since being diagnosed with a form of leukemia early in the season.

After yet another inspiring victory, he shared some uplifting words with his crew in the locker room.

“I’ve got circumstances. You guys understand it, I understand it,” Pagano told the team. “It’s already beat. It’s already beat. My vision that I’m living is to see two more daughters get married, dance at their weddings and then lift the Lombardi Trophy several times. I’m dancing at two more weddings and we’re hoisting that trophy together, men. Congratulations, I love all of you.”

The two sides went back and forth all day. Reggie Wayne caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Luck in the back of the end zone on third down, giving the Colts their first lead of the day at 7-3 with less than a minute left in the first.

Third down was Luck’s best friend on Sunday. He converted 13 of 19 third down passes into first downs and kept drives alive all day long.

Ryan Tannehill, who is also a rookie quarterback starting in year one, actually possessed the ball with an opportunity to tie the game or put Miami ahead late. However, Indianapolis’ defense held strong. He threw for 290 yards and one touchdown.

By halftime, Miami led 17-13.

Inside the two-minute mark of the third quarter, still trailing 17-13, Luck threw a long ball 36 yards into double coverage, but receiver T.Y. Hilton outplayed both defenders and came down with it in the end zone to give the Colts a 20-17 lead entering the fourth quarter.

A Dolphins field goal tied the game at 20, with the clock reading 13:19 in the fourth.

Seven minutes and fourteen seconds, and 69 yards later, Luck had led his team down the field, and they knocked through a 43-yard field goal that would eventually be the game-winning score.

“The kid, he continues to amaze,” Wayne said of Luck. “Hopefully I can help, you know, add onto his legacy that he’s about to build.”

Resiliency appears to be something that the Colts have been sharing with Pagano all season, and all of a sudden they now find themselves right in the thick of the AFC playoff picture as a result.

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Just a few hours after their head coach, Chuck Pagano, was released from the hospital, the Indianapolis Colts (3-3) took the field and held on for a 17-13 home victory over the Cleveland Browns (1-6) on Sunday.

“He was at the house, and we’re really excited about that,” said interim coach Bruce Arians said Pagano, who is undergoing treatment for a form of adult leukemia. “That’s probably as big as the win today. … I’m sure he’s feeling great right now.”

Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck didn’t have his best day throwing the football, as he tallied a mere 186 yards on 16 of 29 attempts and zero touchdown passes.

But he instead got the job done with his feet, rushing for two touchdowns and becoming the first Colts quarterback to do so since 1988.

Luck ran one in from three yards out on the game’s opening possession to cap off an 11 play, 80 yard drive, putting Indianapolis ahead 7-0 with 7:23 remaining in the first quarter.

Cleveland responded with a drive that was almost just as long the first time they touched the football – 78 yards on 16 plays. Receiver Greg Little made an acrobatic leaping touchdown catch toward the back of the end zone on a 14 yard pass from rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden to finish off the drive.

A botched hold on the extra point by punter and kick holder Reggie Hodges, however, caused the Browns to miss out on the PAT, keeping them behind at 7-6 with 14:01 left in the first half.

That one point would prove costly toward the end of the game, as it left the Browns in a position where they could not tie the game with a field goal.

A play action fake five yards from the goal line on the next possession allowed Luck to scamper into the end zone untouched, extending the Colts lead to 14-6.

Luck’s success on the ground translated to the rest of the team as well. Indianapolis totaled 148 rushing yards on the day. Vick Ballard did the majority of the workload with 84 yards on 20 carries.

Browns rookie receiver Josh Gordon caught a 33 yard strike to bring Cleveland back within one early in the third quarter, but it was a play about midway through the fourth quarter that will haunt him.

Weeden unleashed a perfectly thrown 41 yard ball to the end zone, which Gordon dropped as the sun peered through Lucas Oil Stadium’s open roof just at the point of arrival. Cleveland would have taken its first lead of the day, but instead failed to score for the rest of the game.

“He makes that catch nine times out of 10, so be it, it didn’t happen on this day, but I stay positive with him,” said Weeden. “He’s made a lot of big plays. He’s coming into his own and he’s becoming a really good player.”

Indianapolis tacked on a 38 yard field goal with only 3:19 left on the clock, and the defense stood its ground to seal the victory.

With the win, the Colts now have eclipsed last season’s total victory mark of two. They will hit the road and take on an AFC South rival next week in the Tennessee Titans (3-4), while the Browns will host the San Diego Chargers (3-3).

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A six yard touchdown reception by Minnesota Vikings tight end Kevin Rudolph changed everything. Before the Indianapolis Colts could blink, they had blown the 20-6 lead that they had extended to with 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings were an extra point away from tying the score by the time the clock read 31 seconds.

With two timeouts at their arsenal, a decision had to be made by Indianapolis. Take the safe route and play for overtime, or give rookie quarterback Andrew Luck no other choice than to grow up at that very moment and lead his team to their first win of the season and the first of his career.

Head coach Chuck Pagano chose the latter, and two 20 yard completions, an offside penalty, 18 seconds, a 53 yard Adam Vinatieri field goal and a 23-20 thriller of a victory later, everyone at Lucas Oil Stadium was more than thankful that he had so much faith in Luck in a situation that would send jitters up the spine of any rookie quarterback.

“It’s just amazing that the guy’s able to go out there and do the things he does as a rookie,” said Pagano. “He certainly had to put the ball on them, and he did.”

After a Week 1 losing performance in Chicago where he was picked off three times by the Bears, Luck rebounded in fine fashion, as he threw for two touchdowns, no interceptions and 224 yards on 20/31 passing on Sunday afternoon in his last-minute winning debut before the hometown crowd.

Minnesota took an early first quarter lead with a 51 yard field goal on the initial possession of the game. Luck wasted no time in responding, and led a 13 play, 6 minute, 59 second drive of 80 yards that ended in a three yard touchdown pass which was zipped into rookie tight end Dwayne Allen at the goal line to give the Colts a 7-3 lead with less than a minute to go in the opening quarter.

By the time the two minute warning had come and gone, both teams had exchanged two more field goals, and a three and out gave Indianapolis the ball at their own 35 yard line ahead 10-6 with 71 seconds remaining in the first half.

On that drive Luck would bring the Colts down to the Minnesota 30 yard line and float a perfect pass between three Vikings defenders into the hands of veteran receiver Reggie Wayne for a touchdown as the clock ticked down to only seven seconds until halftime.

Luck stood in the pocket and took a solid hit just before the release, allowing his team to enter the locker room with a two score lead at 17-6.

Vikings second year quarterback Christian Ponder brought Minnesota all the way back with two fourth quarter touchdown passes after a 45 yard Vinatieri third quarter field goal made it 20-6 Indianapolis.

But in the end, Luck understood the magnitude of the moment, and he did anything but shy away from it.

“Kid’s got poise,” said Wayne of Luck. “Got some winning blood in his veins.”

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Once former quarterback Peyton Manning was shelved due to a serious neck injury that refused to recover before the 2011 regular season even kicked off, the Indianapolis Colts season was realistically over. The team that had been the class of the AFCo South for over a decade went winless over its first 13 games last year without Manning, and was embarrassingly fortunate to finish with a 2-14 final.

At 36 years of age, no one was truly sure how much Manning had remaining in the tank, and the worst part was that Indianapolis had to decide whether or not they would give him a $28 million bonus for the upcoming season. However, if there was ever a perfect time to have such a troublesome dilemma in Indianapolis, it was last year. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck was predicted to forego his senior year of college and enter the 2012 NFL Draft. Many do not hesitate to claim that he is one of the most – if not the most – polished quarterbacking prospects of all time.

After months of nationwide speculation, the Colts finally cut ties with Manning, cutting him on March 7, confirming the widespread belief that they would draft Luck and build toward the future.

But owner Jim Irsay felt that a change in quarterback would not suffice. He went ahead and changed the entire regime by firing both head coach Jim Caldwell and general manager Bill Polian. Chuck Pagano, who served as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator last season after three previous seasons as their secondary coach, will replace Caldwell in his first season as an NFL head coach. Ryan Grigson, a former Philadelphia Eagles scout, was hired as the new general manager.

With the additions came several subtractions. Veterans such as tight end Dallas Clark, running back Joseph Addai, center Jeff Saturday, wide receivers Pierre Garcon and Anthony Gonzales, and linebacker Gary Brackett have all gone elsewhere. Long-time wide receiver Reggie Wayne, in a surprise to many, did however re-sign with Indianapolis.

Additions that are expected to have an immediate impact include former Tennessee Titans wide receiver Donnie Avery, former Ravens defensive lineman Corey Redding, and former Dolphins cornerback Vontae Davis. Draft picks other than Luck who are believed to step in and receive a significant amount of playing time include his former teammate, who was drafted in the second round, tight end Coby Fleener, tight end out of Clemson, Dwayne Allen (third round) and former FIU wide receiver T.Y. Hilton (third round).

Expectations aren’t too high in Indy as far as the win total is concerned following the period of extreme transition, but after finishing 28^th in the league in both scoring offense and defense last season at 15.2 and 26.9 points per game, respectively, the Colts main hope is to simply improve and grow as a team that could be serious AFC contenders for years to come.

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Reminiscent of the infamous ‘Wide Right’ miss by Scott Norwood in Super Bowl XXV, Billy Cundiff’s failed 32-yard field goal attempt against the New England Patriots broke the hearts of Ravens’ fans worldwide. In addition to being a missed opportunity for Baltimore, it raises widespread concerns over whether or not the current side can mount another genuine shot at Super Bowl glory.

With defensive talismans Ray Lewis and Ed Reed both winding down their illustrious careers, it remains to be seen whether they will be able to maintain their high level performances for another season. Although Lewis has already moved to reassure fans he will be back next season, and remains confident of being able to challenge for the Super Bowl once more, he is not the only issue Baltimore will have to contend with as they move into the offseason.

Primary amongst Baltimore’s concerns will be resolving questionmarks over both defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano and offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. Pagano has orchestrated another great season for the Ravens, helping them maintain their position as one of the best defenses in the league, ending the regular season ranked 3^rd in Total Defense, 3^rd in Sacks and 1^st in Forced Fumbles.

These kind of statistics are hard to ignore and Pagano has been linked with several of the vacant Head Coach positions around the league, and as such, ensuring his continued position at the Ravens must be a priority for Baltimore.

Questions of a different kind abound over the future of Cameron however, with the OC coming in for widespread criticism from both fans and pundits alike. Most prominent of these criticisms have been Cameron’s inability to get Ray Rice the touches he needs to be a dominant force in games, and his persistence to try and shoehorn Joe Flacco into a system which the quarterback is clearly not comfortable in.

Highlighting this problem has been the fact that some of Flacco’s best plays this season have come either in the no huddle offense or when he is escaping the pocket and giving his receivers more time to find space. Whether they stick with Cameron or decide to pursue an alternative, Baltimore need to make a decision quickly in order to ensure the least possible disruption come the preseason.

In terms of personnel on the playing field, the Ravens have key opportunities in the upcoming draft to address positions which are in need of an injection in both quality and depth. The first of these positions is the inside linebacker. Although Lewis has performed exceptionally given his age this season, he no longer has the pace to make himself a force in coverage, which means both he and Jameel McClain are focused on stopping the run, and leave the vaunted Ravens defense susceptible to the pass and feeling unbalanced.

Another receiver would also be top of the Ravens wish list, whether he is a tight end or a wide receiver. Rookie Torrey Smith has done well in his first sseason, but has yet to develop the ability to catch the ball consistently, whilst Ed Dickson showed signs of his potential early in the season, but like Smith, has a penchant for dropping passes which are relatively pressure free.

Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta have both acquitted themselves well this season, but the lack of reliable targets in his receiving core has led to Flacco recording his lowest completion rate since he entered the NFL, as well as his quarterback rating dropping to a similar level that he recorded in his rookie year.

Come the Ravens’ pick in the first round, inside linebacker Vontaze Burfict of Arizona State could be available, but would represent a high-risk reward scenario for Baltimore. None can doubt his talent, and he possess the speed that would make him an excellent tandem with both Lewis and McClain, but his form has been highly inconsistent this season and he has been known to give away unnecessary penalties when he lets his anger get the better of him.

These are flaws which can be corrected however, and there is arguably no better guy for him to learn from and have as a positive role model than Lewis. In terms of taking a receiver with their first round pick, the Ravens could do far worse than Mohamed Sanu of Rutgers who, whilst not quite possessing the top end speed of Smith, is a good route runner and has reliable hands.

An alternative to both of these could be Nick Perry of USC who is an outside linebacker with a great ability to rush the passer, making him the perfect option to line up opposite of Terrell Suggs and really torment opposition quarterbacks.

Whichever way Baltimore decides to go this offseason, fans can be left fairly assured that GM Ozzie Newsome has rarely led the Ravens astray in recent seasons and that between himself and Head Coach John Harbaugh, the Ravens will be in a good place come preseason and ready to give both Lewis and Reed probably their last shot at Super Bowl glory.

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