The Colts will see the return of their best player when they face the Jets on Monday Night Football, as quarterback Andrew Luck has emerged from the league’s concussion protocol and will start in a critical Week 13 contest, the club announced today.
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Indianapolis was forced to turn to backup signal-caller Scott Tolzien against the Steelers on Thanksgiving Day, and the Colts predictably struggled to generate any sort of consistent offense (though the club’s defense perhaps shoulders more of the blame for that Week 12 loss). The Colts now sit with a record 6-6, one game behind the AFC South-leading Texans, and a half-game behind the Titans, who are on bye.
Heading into their matchup against the Jets, the Colts have a 20.7% chance of earning a postseason berth, according to Football Outsiders, and the path to playoffs almost assuredly entails taking the division crown thanks to the strength of other AFC wild card contenders. A victory over New York would bump those odds to roughly 30%, tweets Brian Burke of ESPN.com, while a loss would drop them to the 10-15% range.
The news and signals on Luck coming out of Indianapolis had been positive all week, as he was spotted on the practice field as early as Monday. Additionally, the Colts opted to waive quarterback Stephen Morris when activating linebacker Trent Cole, a clear indication that Luck was looking at an imminent return to game action.