The Indianapolis Colts are finally seeing the fruits of a clean Andrew Luck.
The quarterback is on a torrid pace, tossing three touchdowns in six consecutive games, the fourth-longest streak since 1950, behind only Tom Brady (10), Peyton Manning (8) and Dan Marino (7), per NFL Research.
Luck's success, as the Colts pushed themselves into the AFC playoff picture, is a confluence of factors. He's finally healthy for the first time in years. Coach Frank Reich has constructed an offense that gets the ball out quick and takes advantage of Luck's skills. The run game has finally arrived. And the offensive line that was once a liability has become one of the best units in football.
"The line is doing a heck of a job," Luck said after Sunday's 29-26 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, via the Indy Star. "They're largely responsible for anything positive in this offense. They're doing a great job."
Per usual, Luck is underselling.
The Colts' offensive line has been out-of-this-world good. Luck hasn't been sacked in four games, tying a franchise record. The sackless streak is the fifth-longest in NFL history.
Last season, Jacksonville took on its "Sacksonville" moniker in part because of how badly they whipped the Colts' offensive line, taking down then-quarterback Jacoby Brissett 10 times.
Sunday, the Jags got a goose-egg in the sack column. They hit Luck just twice in the entire contest.
"We were a different team back then, that's for sure," Colts center Ryan Kelly said of the difference between last year and this year. "Not to speak on it too much, but it was a different offense. We weren't really -- let's just say I don't think [opponents] feared our run game the way they do now. That helps out a lot. It's a hell of a lot easier to pass block when they know you're running game is pretty good. That's probably the biggest thing."
Yes, the offense is different, but the line's play has a big hand in why it's succeeded.
One factor is the line group of Anthony Castonzo, Quenton Nelson, Kelly, Mark Glowinski and Braden Smith have now played together for four straight games, a streak that hadn't happened for the Indy o-line in five years.
"Playing together so consistently is huge," Castonzo said. "It's so important to understand how each other plays."
Health has been a big factor in the consistency, and there is a case to be made that rookie Quenton Nelson has been the most impactful high draft pick on his team's playoff chances.
"We're a really tight group," Nelson added. "We got great guys in the room. It's a special group. We've got great coaches, and we've been coming together and improving each week. We definitely have some things we can clean up, but we'll do that Monday. ... We've strung together a few good games here, and we're really happy and proud of that, and we're going to try and continue it as best we can."
It helps when you've got this monster screaming to the edge:
