Don’t count out Luck

Indianapolis has shown a propensity to fall behind early, often big, before embarking on comebacks. That’s what happened with the Colts Sunday against Detroit as they went down 21-3 late in the second quarter. The Colts then outscored the Lions 25-7 to tie the game early in the fourth quarter, but their defense ultimately gave up the victory.

10 of Luck’s 35 career wins have been fourth quarter comeback victories, the same amount as Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers although the latter has seven more years of NFL experience. If the Broncos get up early, they can’t afford to cruise to the finish line. Related Articles September 14, 2016 Demaryius Thomas hobbled at practice, as Broncos try to get him square to face Colts

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Overcoming history

It hasn’t been the Chiefs or Patriots who have been the Broncos’ toughest opponents over the past few years, it’s the Colts. Indianapolis has won three of its past four meetings against Denver since 2013 and five consecutive before that from 2005-2010 when Peyton Manning was the Colts’ quarterback. The Colts knocked off the undefeated Broncos 27-24 in Indianapolis last November.

“They just got our number to be honest,” running back C.J. Anderson said. “It’s just something about what they do. They really don’t change anything up. It’s just something about them wanting it more than us. That’s what it comes down to this weekend. We just have to want it more.”

Quick flags

The Broncos drew much scrutiny for their helmet-to-helmet hits on Panthers quarterback Cam Newton last Thursday. It’ll be interesting to see if referees are flag happy on any hard or borderline hits Denver doles out, particularly on Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

Denver’s defense has maintained it will stay aggressive and play its game. That means it will be fast-moving, hard-hitting and attacking the quarterback.