The Colts had the ball with seconds to play on their own 38-yard line and a need to erase a four-point deficit against the Eagles.
Naturally they tried for a Hail Mary. What was unusual was that they pulled their starting quarterback for the play. Jacoby Brissett replaced Andrew Luck for what turned out to be a futile effort to pull out a miracle win. Brissett had plenty of arm for the throw, which is why head coach Frank Reich used him.
“He can throw it a mile ... We knew Jacoby had the arm to throw it into the end zone,” Reich said, via Kevin Bowen of 1070 The Fan.
Reich indicated Luck would have remained in if the Colts were around midfield and downplayed any notion that Luck’s arm strength is a concern after he missed all of last year with a right shoulder injury. The Colts’ offensive game plan was heavy on short passes all afternoon and Luck wound up 25-of-40 for 164 yards on a low-octane afternoon for the offense.
The result was better in Week Two against Washington, but the throws were similar for Luck and some will likely wonder about any lingering doubts about his arm unless the Colts start taking some more shots down the field in the weeks to come.
