A lot of teams don’t take the preseason games, especially the first one, very seriously. The Indianapolis Colts are one of those, playing Andrew Luck but holding off a lot of the firepower to help him in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Luck completed 5-of-6 passes for 43 yards, but the more notable thing was who wasn’t playing for the Colts. T.Y. Hilton, Frank Gore, Vontae Davis and other. Andre Johnson was on the field and caught one pass for his new team, going for nine yards. Dwayne Allen was also out of the picture, while Coby Fleener caught one pass for six yards.
Both of the backup quarterbacks, Matt Hasselbeck and Bryan Bennett, didn’t really impress, although they aren’t competing for the #1 spot. Hasselbeck completed just 8-of-17 passes for 72 yards, while Bennett completed just 4-of-16 passes, picked off a couple of times by Ed Reynolds. Bennett also turned the ball over with a fumble, like Phillip Dorsett.
The only touchdown for the Colts came from Josh Robinson, a running back taken in the sixth round, going for 44 yards on 10 carries and a score. Dorsett, also a rookie and with more pressure on him being a 29th overall pick, caught four passes for 51 yards.
One thing that was quite easily spotted was how difficult it was for the Colts to keep up with the fast paced Eagles offense. But it’s no cause for concern. It makes no sense making specific preparations for a preseason opponent, and one that the Colts won’t be meeting in the regular season.