Monday 8 December 2014 17:54, UK
Andrew Luck turned from villain to hero to lead the Indianapolis Colts to a massive 25-24 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Colts quarterback Luck struggled through an awful first half for his side's offense, with the Browns defense in rampant form, but he and T.Y. Hilton hooked up for two second half scores to leave them on the verge of a play-off berth.
The Browns took the lead in the first quarter when Luck was sacked by Paul Kruger and fumbled, with Craig Robertson coming up with the ball in the endzone.
Luck levelled the scores with an 11-yard rushing score but the Browns led at half-time when Isaiah Crowell made the most of some non-existent tackling to score from nine yards out.
An ill-advised Luck pass was picked off by rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert early in the third period, and when he crossed for the 'pick six' the Browns were leading 21-7.
Adam Vinatieri converted a 51-yard field goal to close the gap and Hilton finally broke free from Joe Haden's shackles to score from 42 yards as the Colts stormed back into the game.
A 33-yarder from Vinatieri was cancelled out by Billy Cundiff's 39-yard field goal but the Colts were left with time on the clock to get their noses in front for the first time.
And Luck proved to be at his composed best as he took the Colts quickly down the field, the big completion coming to emerging wide receiver Donte Moncrief.
A 12-yard completion to Coby Fleener got the Colts in to scoring range but they needed a key conversion on fourth down from Dan Herron to keep the game alive inside the final minute.
That enabled Luck to find Hilton with a pass across his body to put the Colts a point in front, and when Brian Hoyer was intercepted on the Browns' final drive, victory was confirmed for Indianapolis.
Victory improved their record to 9-4, one win away from the playoffs, and the Browns are just about in contention at 7-6 although they will need plenty of help from their divisional rivals.
