First Road win since 2010? Check.  First Divisional Win? Check.  Rebuilding Project Ahead of Schedule?  Possible check.  Double the win total from last season? Check.  Hard to believe we are looking at a 4-3 Indianapolis Colts team that just pulled off their own Music City Miracle type win with the backwards dive of Vick Ballard.  But here we are and a few more wins for this Colts team could get them somehow in playoff position with as bad as the AFC is this season.  I still don’t think they’ll make the playoffs, but they could overshoot that 4-6 win total by a couple of games if they can get going.

Passing Game:  A

The game winning drive includes a game winning pass, so I have to give this an A.  Andrew Luck found Vick Ballard for a screen, and let him do his thing on the way to the end zone.

Running Game:  A

Who knew the Colts would out run the Titans 171-112?  That 5.0 per carry sure makes picking up another down easier as well. Donald Brown and Vick Ballard were a good tandem as each guy was able to pick up good yardage per carry.

Passing Defense :  C

Matt Hasselbeck goes for 236 yards with only 7 misses on his passing game.  That average of 8.1 yard per pass is way high, but with the Colts secondary, what do you expect?  He threw it around to all the different guys, and not one receiver really beat the Colts.  But giving up that big of yard per throw brings down the grade for me.

Running Defense:  B

Chris Johnson runs under 100 yards, which is bad for me as I have him in a fantasy league.  But it was good enough for the Colts to shut him down.  He had a week of 195 yards last week, so anything under that was probably good enough for the Colts.

Intangibles:  B

Getting a road win is never an easy task.  With as bad as the Titans are, some were counting this as an automatic win.  But then again, this isn’t a good Colts team, so they can’t chalk up anything as automatic. But finally putting away that 10 game road losing streak has to feel good.  Getting to 4-3 and surpassing last year’s win total has to feel even better.

The Colts traveled to Met Life for a game against the New York Jets, and couldn’t leave fast enough after this dismal display.  Andrew Luck looked like the rookie quarterback he is at times with missing a couple of open guys that could have been scores.  The Colts defense got scorched by Shonn Greene for 161 yards.  Even Mark Sanchez looked like a better quarterback than he usually is.  This was not the coming out party the Colts had anticipated when all the talk was these next five games could be something to watch.  The Jets put together a performance that showed maybe they’re not dead yet.  Next up for the Colts is a game against the Cleveland Browns at home, maybe the friendly confines of Lucas Oil Stadium will be what they need.

Passing Game:  C-

Oct 14, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) throws a pass against the New York Jets during the second half at Metlife Stadium. The Jets won the game 35-9. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-US PRESSWIRE

Andrew Luck didn’t have the performance that he was hoping for in this game.  Overthrowing a few times, even one to Coby Fleener that would have been a score.  Also throw in two interceptions, one of  which that went in for a score, but was called back.  The Jets would score on that interception, so it didn’t matter in the long run.  Reggie Wayne was covered by Antonio Cromartie for the game, which meant Luck had to find other guys.   He did find Wayne for some yards, but not enough to put the Colts in any sense of a passing game.

Running Game:  D

Oct 14, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) hands the ball off to running back Vick Ballard (33) before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The running game didn’t do their part as Donald Brown looked to be greatly missed from the backfield.  Vick Ballard gets his first start, but only manages 25 yards on 8 carries.  The Colts as a team couldn’t even manage 3 yards a carry.  That’s putting your team in big third down conversions if you can’t pick up some yards.  It never felt like the running game was going to take off, so Andrew Luck ends up going for 44 passes.

Passing Defense:  C

Oct 14, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez (6) throws to running back Bilal Powell (29) against the Indianapolis Colts during the second quarter at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

Mark Sanchez only threw for passes 18 times and completed 82 yards, so in a way you could say that’s a good day for the Colts passing defense.  But there were two scores thrown by Sanchez, and that’s two too many.  They got to Sanchez once for  a sack as the offensive line had their way with the Colts defensive line.

Running Defense:  D

Oct 14, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets running back Shonn Greene (23) runs past Indianapolis Colts inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman (50) during the game at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aristide Economopoulos/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

Looks like the Jets might have found their ground and pound personality against the Colts.  Not the day that Colt fans would have liked for that to happen, but Shonn Greene looked more like the back he was a couple of years ago as he ran all over the Colts.  Joe McKnight got in on the fun as well with his 61 yard carry, which was the longest run for a Jets running back in three years.  Who knows when this Colts run defense will get to some semblence of stopping the run?

Intangibles:  D

 You knew the Jets would be so hungry for a win, they would try anything.  In this game, they didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.  There wasn’t any trick plays, and there was only a small bit of Tim Tebow that didn’t produce much.  Hey I went a whole 500 words before mentioning his name.  This Jets team looked like the team that could head to the playoffs if they put this effort together each week.  The Colts looked like the team that many people predicted would struggle during the season.  They definitely came back crashing to Earth after last week’s great win.  That’s why it’s so hard to tell what a team looks like week to week.  But the Colts need to put a better effort come this Sunday in front of the home crowd, especially against a not so good Cleveland Browns team.

Not sure if many people had the Colts sitting at 2-2 with the first quarter of the season done, but that’s where they are.  With a stunning comeback against Green Bay today, Andrew Luck powered his way to a career best game and leading the way for the Colts to win for Coach Chuck Pagano as he’s off fighting off leukemia.  Reggie Wayne had quite the productive day as well with his 212 yards of receiving, one of the finest receiving performances by a Colts player.  This team banded together in that second half and wouldn’t quit even after getting behind 21-3.  This could be a signature win for Andrew Luck in what is going to be a fantastic career.

Passing Game:  A

Oct. 07, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) avoids pressure from the Green bay Packers defense during first half at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-US PRESSWIRE

With Andrew Luck throwing for 362 todays and Reggie Wayne accounting for 212 of those yards, how can I not give this performance an A?  Could have bumped it up to an A+ if it wasn’t for those four sacks.  But overall,  what a passing day.  Luck threw to seven different guys with five of them catching at least three or more passes.  DeWayne Allen catches a touchdown pass on his way to a game of 4 receptions for 38 yards.  Coby Fleener, the other rookie tight end, caught 5 passes for 41 yards.  But the story of the day is Reggie Wayne, and his highlight catches.  There were a couple of those in this one, and he shows why he wanted to stay with this Colts team.  He’s going to be a great target for Luck, and that duo will be like Batman and Robin, a dynamic one.

Running Game:  B 

Oct 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts running back Donald Brown (31) is tackled by Green Bay Packers cornerback Tramon Williams (38) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeated Green Bay 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Not many yards to talk about here, but Donald Brown was effective when running the ball.  Running for 4.9 yards on 17 carries is effective enough for what Donald Brown can do.  Andrew Luck even got to running and ends up in the end zone on a score.  This run game has been a bit better than recent years, and can still improve.  But if Brown can provide this type of production each game to at least make the running game look like a threat, the Colts offense will be that much better.

Pass Defense:  B

Oct. 07, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) is sacked by the Indianapolis Colts defense during second half action. The Colts defeated the packers, 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-US PRESSWIRE

You think Aaron Rodgers and you think big passing game. But with this one, the pass defense held their own against Rodgers.  He throws for 243 yards, but was picked off once for an interception.  Also, the leading receiving only got 82 yards on 4 catches, which is a big yards per catch, but in the overall picture, it wasn’t that bad.  The pass game would have been the Packers best advantage, but they couldn’t seem to take advantage of that.  Corey Redding gets credit for putting lots of pressure on Rodgers even resulting in two sacks.

Run Defense:  A

Oct 7, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Cedric Benson (32) tries to escape from Indianapolis Colts cornerback Cassius Vaughn (32) at Lucas Oil Stadium. Indianapolis defeated Green Bay 30-27. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Aaron Rodgers was the leading rusher, so this Colts run defense has to get an A in that category.  Cedric Benson went down and had only 20 yards on 7 carries.  Rodgers ran for 57 yards on 5 carries.  The run defense held their own and kept the Colts alive in this game.  The run game of the Packers wasn’t much of a worry to me, and the Colts stopped the run as much as they could.

Intangibles:  A

You think of the big issue in the Colts not having their head coach here for the game, and that looked to be a big disadvantage in the first half.  But something happened in the second half, where the Colts turned it around.  Maybe they figured out what to do with the Packers.  Maybe the defense wanted to show they could get the team back into this game by stopping the Packers.  Maybe there was just something special happening in that second half to get the Colts this big win.  In the long run, this might seem like another win, but for the day, it felt like a win to get into the playoffs or winning that big game you didn’t think you could win.  Andrew Luck put away those thoughts of Robert Griffin the third’s big game a few weeks ago, and had his own moment of glory.  There were times he was showing how much of a leader he can be in his rookie season.  He didn’t play like a rookie today, and that can go a long way for this team.  Next up is a trip to play the New York Jets, where who knows maybe the Colts can get another win and get some momentum going for this season.