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NYJ-IND grades: Luck ties worst grade of career

Here are the top takeaways and highest-graded players from the Colts-Jets game:

Indianapolis Colts

–We’re used to seeing Andrew Luck (-6.2) produce some poor passes throughout the course of a game, but this was one of the rare instances of Luck piling bad play upon bad play and never turning the corner. Luck matched the worst grade of his career (set against the Patriots in last year’s playoffs), suffering as the Jets pressure and coverage combined to stifle his downfield passing as he compiled a stat line of 5-of-17 for 107 yards, three interceptions and a PFF passing grade of -4.8 on passes of 10 or more yards in the air.

–Considering the offense’s struggles, the Colts’ defense held up reasonably well, particularly up front where two rookies from Stanford stood out against the run. Both NT David Parry (+2.0) and DE Henry Anderson (+1.8) outworked and at times overpowered a physical Jets offensive line, with undrafted free agent Parry’s work against Nick Mangold (-0.6), arguably the league’s best center in the run game, particularly impressive.

–The problems for the Colts’ offense are too numerous to list here, but continuing struggles on the offensive line raise questions as to why a fix is so difficult to find here. Only Anthony Castonzo (+0.1) earned a marginally positive overall grade with new RG Todd Herremans (-10.9) in particular struggling in the ground game against the Jets’ powerful defensive line. For all the investment at the skill positions, if the Colts can’t find the right formula on the offensive line, the entire unit will continue to be handicapped.

Top performers:

ILB D’Qwell Jackson (+3.7)

FS Mike C. Adams (+2.5)

NT David Parry (+2.0)

DE Henry Anderson (+1.8)

ILB Jerrell Freeman (+1.7)

New York Jets

–He has produced better games than this in his career, but QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (+0.6) did everything he needed to do to lead the Jets to victory, limiting his mistakes and taking the plays the Colts and his playmakers gave him to capitalize on Indianapolis’ turnovers. Finding a consistent rhythm with both Eric Decker (-0.3) and Brandon Marshall (+0.9), Fitzpatrick and Jets fans will hope that Eric Decker’s knee injury is not so severe as to keep him out of the lineup for too long.

–The Jets defense stole the show last night and they were led up front by a vintage performance from DE Muhammad Wilkerson (+7.1) against both run and pass. Somewhat overshadowed in the last two seasons by Sheldon Richardson, Wilkerson has capitalized on Richardson's absence in the last two weeks, and after last night’s eight pressure performance (2 hits, 6 hurries) is now our highest graded 3-4 defensive end after two weeks of play (+11.5).

–First-round pick Leonard Williams (-0.4) put in a solid performance against the run (+1.4) with a pair of stops, but lived up to his pre-draft expectations as a pass-rusher. Registering a hit and two hurries, Williams essentially took what he was given rather than being a threat to steal more. A couple of slow developing pressures were paired with a miss on Andrew Luck after Colts’ LG Lance Louis (-3.4) decided to give him a free run at his quarterback.

Top performers:

DE Muhammad Wilkerson (+7.1)

ILB David Harris (+3.4)

CB Darrelle Revis (+2.7)

DE Stephen Bowen (+2.2)

FS Marcus Gilchrist (+1.7)

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