INDIANAPOLIS -- Andrew Luck redeemed himself from a poor 2015 on paper this season.
He completed a career-high 63.5 percent of his passes, finished fifth in the NFL in touchdown passes (31) and eighth in passing yards (4,240). The individual accomplishments are nice, but Luck is missing the playoffs for the time in his NFL career while starting the majority of the games.
"It’s odd. It’s disappointing," he said. "First, disappointed in myself. I feel like I could have done better and maybe have helped this team end with a different record, but the reality is we didn’t. Winning was important though. It’s hard to verbalize why it’s important, but it is. Close the chapter on this season, this year of the Colts and hopefully we can start a new one in better fashion."
There was another side of Luck in 2016, the side that he needs to improve on in 2017.
One of the problems the Indianapolis Colts had was that they struggled to get off to a quick start at times. They were outscored in the first half of eight games this season. To no surprise they were 1-7 when that happened.
Luck only completed 59.9 percent of his attempts in the first half of games compared to 66.7 percent in the second, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Luck had 11 of his 14 interceptions in the first 30 minutes and 19 of his touchdowns came in the final 30 minutes of games.
"There are certainly some games I feel like I could have played better, and you go around the locker room and everybody is going to say that," Luck said. "That is the beauty of being on a team. That’s the beauty of the guys in this locker room. There is no finger pointing. Guys take the onus on themselves. I am excited to improve, excited for the offseason to get better."
Luck, who missed nine games in 2015, dealt with an assortment of injuries, including a concussion, this season. He was routinely listed on the team’s injury report with a shoulder problem, and he ended the season wearing a glove on his hand because of a cut. There hasn't been any indication that he'll need any kind of offseason medical procedure.
"The quarterback play, I thought Andrew was outstanding and fought through a bunch of adversity, like we all did," coach Chuck Pagano said. "There is stuff that he would love to have back."
