SEATTLE (AP) — Andrew Luck could feel the pressure building as he prepared for his first game action with Indianapolis since the final week of the 2016 season.
When he let go of trying to contain his excitement Eddie Yarbrough Jersey , the pressure was released.
“I really enjoyed it. I didn’t quite know I’d have this much fun getting practice again. I didn’t know I’d have this much fun even playing football,” Luck said. “It’s a preseason game, I’m not going to blow anything out of proportion, but it’s still a game, a chance to go up against another color jersey. It was a fun step along the way.”
Luck was back under center, leading Indianapolis on a pair of field-goal drives in just over a quarter in the Colts’ 19-17 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
The reintroduction of Luck as the Colts’ leader started with a 17-yard swing pass to Marlon Mack on the first play. It concluded early in the second quarter when his pass intended for T.Y. Hilton was broken up. In between, Luck was bear-hugged by Seattle All-Pro linebacker Bobby Wagner on a scramble run, sacked by Rasheem Green, and also showed flashes his surgically repaired right shoulder is ready to allow him to again be a premier quarterback.
Luck completed 6 of 9 passes for 64 yards, most of that coming on the opening drive when he hit 5 of 7. Luck completed passes to five receivers and threw from a clean pocket on most of his dropbacks, even with starting left tackle Anthony Castonzo not playing.
It had been nearly 600 days since Luck was last on the field, when he threw for 321 yards in a 24-20 win over Jacksonville on Jan. 1, 2017. For one night, Luck looked like his pre-surgery form.
“He just kept saying how excited he was and right before he went out he said ‘There’s a lot of emotions right now let’s see if I can control them,'” Indianapolis coach Frank Reich said. “It was almost like he was saying, ‘I’m going to need to control how I’m feeling, because I’m pretty jacked up.’ And he came out in the first drive and handled it like we expected.”
Adam Vinatieri made field goals of 33 Anthony Munoz Jersey , 51 and 45 yards in the first half, and Michael Badgley’s 34-yarder late in the third quarter gave Indianapolis a 12-10 lead. Phillip Walker added a 10-yard TD pass to Darrell Daniels early in the fourth quarter.
Luck’s counterpart from the 2012 draft, Russell Wilson, played one series for Seattle. Wilson was 4 of 5 for 43 yards and capped his only drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Nick Vannett. It was Wilson’s first action playing in the offense of new coordinator Brian Schottenheimer, which will be heavily tilted toward the run. Second-year running back Chris Carson averaged 6.5 yards per carry in limited action.
Seattle’s defense scored with 3:15 left when an errant snap was recovered by Joey Ivie for a touchdown.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
Three Seattle players ran into the team’s locker room prior to the national anthem.
Defensive linemen Branden Jackson and Quinton Jefferson, and offensive lineman Duane Brown left the field following team introductions and before the start of the anthem. They returned to the sideline immediately after it concluded. All three were among a group of Seattle players that sat during the anthem last season.
Brown and Jefferson said they intend to continue the action all season.
“The team was aware of everyone’s emotions and feelings going forward and we’re all supportive of each other,” Brown said.
There were no other actions by either Seattle or Indianapolis players during the performance of the anthem.
EJECTION
Indianapolis safety Shamarko Thomas was ejected late in the fourth quarter after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Seattle wide receiver David Moore.
SHAQUEM’S DEBUT
Seattle rookie linebacker Shaquem Griffin was all over the field in his debut. Griffin led Seattle with nine tackles, flashing the speed that made him a star in college. But he was also bullied on one play when Indianapolis tight end Jack Doyle used his size to create separation from Griffin on contact and made a 9-yard reception from Luck.
“It felt good to kind of get out there and get your feet wet and kind of get some hits in,” Griffin said. “I know the way the league works you don’t really get a chance to really tackle too much so to kind of get out there and get a few tackles in.”
INJURY REPORT
The most significant injury was Mack leaving late in the first quarter with a hamstring issue. Mack had four carries and two receptions in the first quarter. He wasn’t likely to get much more action, but is still a concern going forward. Indianapolis coach Frank Reich didn’t have any more of an update postgame.
Seattle backup offensive tackle Isaiah Battle limped off the field with a sprained knee in the third quarter, but Seattle coach Pete Carroll said it didn’t appear severe. Battle had been gaining on Germain Ifedi for the starting right tackle spot. Rookie tackle Jamarco Jones also had to be carted off in the fourth quarter after injuring his left ankle. Carroll said X-rays were negative but it was a significant sprain.
Indianapolis also lost wide receivers James Wright and Deon Cain to knee injuries during the game.
NEXT UP
Colts: Indianapolis returns home to host Baltimore on Aug. 20.
Seahawks: Seattle will travel to the Los Angeles Chargers on Aug. 18.
The maker of Jack Daniel’s whiskey has dropped its long-running sponsorship of Alaska’s Iditarod sled race, the company said Wednesday.
The move by Louisville, Kentucky-based Brown-Forman followed a tough year for organizers of the 1,000-mile (1,610 kilometer) Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race who have faced financial hardships, the loss of other sponsors and its first-ever dog doping scandal.
Jack Daniel’s decided to go a different direction by shifting most of its marketing efforts to a partnership with the National Basketball Association, company spokesman Svend Jansen said in a statement.
He said a campaign against the Iditarod by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had nothing to do with the decision A'Shawn Robinson Jersey , which will affect the 2019 race in March.
”As a sponsor of The Iditarod for 15 years we have been particularly impressed with the utmost care in which the animals are treated by the race veterinarians, the dog sled teams and everyone associated with this event,” Jansen wrote in a follow-up email to The Associated Press.
Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George said organizers were notified by Jack Daniel’s that the company made the move to focus on sponsorships in other areas.
”We are confident that we will continue to grow the race with new sponsorship opportunities,” St. George said in an email.
PETA said Jack Daniel’s did the right thing. Spokeswoman Tricia Lebkuecher said the organization believes it had an impact on the decision following public protests and after thousands of PETA members and supporters flooded the company with emails urging the company to end its ties with the race.
PETA said it first contacted Jack Daniel’s following the deaths of five dogs connected with the 2017 race. One dog died in this year’s race as well, with the cause of death blamed on aspiration pneumonia.
”This is a victory for all the dogs who’ve been forced to run this cruel race,” Lebkuecher said in a phone interview.
PETA says its tally of dog deaths totals more than 150 in the Iditarod’s history. That number is disputed by race officials, who say there are no records of dog deaths during the early years of the race, and an accurate count is not available.
In June, the board for the race implemented a major change regarding dog deaths. Organizers will now remove mushers from the race if one of their dogs dies while on the trail. If a dog’s death is caused ”solely by unforeseeable forces,” then a musher may be allowed to stay in the race, according to the change.
Iditarod officials also responded after one if its veteran mushers, Hugh Neff, was banned from competing in the 2019 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race over dog care issues.
Registration for the upcoming Iditarod start Saturday. Organizers say they have the right to ”reject any entrant that does not conform with or demonstrate humane animal care practices.”
The Iditarod also has been suffering financially and lost Wells Fargo bank as a major sponsor last year. Organizers have blamed animal rights activists for pressuring sponsors.
Last year’s race also was marked by fallout from the Iditarod’s first-ever dog doping scandal. Race officials announced that the team of four-time champion Dallas Seavey tested positive for an opioid painkiller after his second-place finish in 2017 but said they could not prove he gave tramadol to his dogs.
Officials didn’t punish Seavey but changed race rules to make mushers responsible for any positive drug test. Seavey, who won four titles between 2012 and 2016, denied giving drugs to his dogs and sat out this year’s race in protest.
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