Andrew Luck amazes, Colts move on to face Denver and Peyton Manning

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck doesn’t make every play. He might get there some day. He still makes a few more mistakes than you’d like.

But there are plenty of times that Luck does something that only a few people on Earth can do, like his touchdown pass to Donte Moncrief in the Colts’ 26-10 playoff win on Sunday.

Luck’s unbelievable play put the Cincinnati Bengals away. He was blitzed from his right, stepped up in the pocket and Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap had a shot at him from behind. Dunlap got a piece of Luck and tripped him up as Luck ran forward. And somehow, Luck delivered a frozen rope to Moncrief in the end zone just as he was tripped up. That stretched Indianapolis’ lead to 20-10, and the Bengals weren’t coming back from that. Indianapolis advances to play next Sunday at the Denver Broncos, in a really fun matchup between Luck and former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.

There are plenty of good quarterbacks who can’t make the throw Luck did to Moncrief. Not too many have the athleticism, arm strength, vision and feel for the game to pull that off. It was right on target. It was an incredible play that he made look relatively easy. Luck isn’t the best quarterback in the league yet, at the end of his third season. But he does things that suspend belief. The Colts put everything on their tremendous young quarterback (on Sunday Luck set two records for most passing attempts and most passing yards in a quarterback’s first four career playoff games, passing Dan Fouts and Kurt Warner respectively, according to ESPN), and often Luck just puts the team on his back.

On the other side, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was the exact opposite of Luck. He looked terrible most of the day, and for a fourth straight offseason he’ll carry the stigma of being one-and-done in the playoffs.

It wasn’t all his fault. Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati's top two receivers in terms of receptions this season, were out with injuries. Dalton’s receivers who did play didn’t help him out at all. But it was hard not to make the quarterback comparison as the Colts pulled away. The Bengals didn't drive into Colts’ territory in the second half until there were less than three minutes in the game, and Dalton lost a fumble on that first play on Indianapolis' side of the field.

The Colts aren’t a complete team by any means, and in many areas the Bengals are better. But Luck covers up a lot of flaws. And sometimes Luck just makes a play nobody else can.