Tale of the Tape: Andrew Luck vs. Robert Griffin III, Week 13

The comparisons are inevitable. Andrew Luck, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2012, and No. 2 pick Robert Griffin III will be scrutinized throughout the season, and probably throughout their careers, unless one of them does his best Ryan Leaf impersonation. And RG3 always will be looked at through a prism of Luck. That's why we're compiling the most important stats for every game they play this year, and some of the most unimportant aspects of those contests as well. This way, it'll be easier to tell who is his team's savior and who should be forced to join JaMarcus Russell in the corner away from the rest of civilization.

Week 13: Luck's Colts watched as he threw the game-winning 14-yard touchdown pass that allowed Indianapolis to escape the Lions with the 35-33 win. Griffin's Redskins held off the Giants 17-16 in a big-time win to keep their playoff hopes alive.

Passing stats

Luck: 24-54, 394 yards, four touchdowns, three interceptions

Griffin: 13-23, 161 yards, one touchdown, zero interceptions

Rushing stats

Luck: Three carries, 33 yards

Griffin: Five carries, 72 yards

Longest play from scrimmage

Luck: On a third-and-six, Luck hit T.Y. Hilton perfectly in stride on a slant pattern, and Hilton used his speed to get the ball into the red zone to complete the 60-yard play.

Griffin: He picked up the bulk of his rushing yards when Griffin gained 46 yards to bring the ball to New York's 15 yard line on Washington's first drive of the second half. On the next play, Alfred Morris fumbled to give the ball to the Giants.

Best play

Luck: The game was on the line with three seconds to play and the Colts facing a fourth-and-goal from the 14 when Luck scrambled, tossed the short pass to Donnie Avery and then basically ran behind him into the end zone to escort him to give Indianapolis the win as time expired.

Griffin: On that 46-yard running play at the beginning of the second half, Griffin showed how dangerous he can be on any given play. It was a third-and-1, and Griffin wonderfully faked a handoff. It fooled New York defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul who went for the running back and allowed Griffin to reach the edge in the space Pierre-Paul had just abandoned. Then, Griffin ran forever.

Worst play

Luck: All three of his interceptions were bad, but I especially didn't like the one late in the second quarter. Though he avoided the pocket collapsing and stepped up, Luck's throw was terrible. The pass was intended for LaVon Brazill, but Don Cary stepped right in front of him to intercept it just before the end of the half.

Griffin: It was almost the best play and then almost the worst play and then the best play again. But I'm still going with the worst play (because Griffin could have cost his team with his miscue). After Griffin ran 12 yards late in the first quarter to gain the first down, Stevie Brown caused Griffin to fumble, and somehow it tumbled into the hands of Redskins receiver Josh Morgan, who took it another 13 yards for the touchdown. Hey, it counted, so really, it wasn't so bad after all.

Best pregame line

Luck: In many ways, Andrew Luck is going through the same growing pains as most rookie quarterbacks. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft hasn't been nearly as effective on the road as in Indianapolis, and turnovers have been his primary downfall. The Colts (7-4) are 2-3 in road games with the three losses by at least 20 points, which should give the Lions (4-7) a little extra confidence heading into their game Sunday at Ford Field. Luck also has 18 turnovers this season (13 interceptions and five fumbles), and 13 have come in those five road games. He's also been sacked 26 times and is completing only 56.8 percent of his passes. -- Josh Katzenstein, Detroit News

Griffin: The ending of the Giants-Redskins game Oct. 21 was one of the most exciting of the year. Two lead-changing touchdowns and a game-sealing turnover took place in the final 92 seconds of the Giants' 27-23 win. It shouldn't have been like that. At least it wouldn't have been like that had the Giants been able to stop Robert Griffin III from converting a fourth-and-10 from the Washington 23 just before the two-minute warning and effectively ended the game with a 20-16 victory over the Redskins. -- Tom Rock, Newsday

Best postgame line

Luck: What should we call it? The Motor City Miracle? The Miracle in Motown? Ridiculous. Astonishing. Dare we say: Peyton-esque? Colts 35, Lions 33. Andrew Luck, who took himself out of Rookie of the Year contention and vaulted himself right back in within the space of three minutes, has had several Peyton Manning moments already this year, but this was the signature moment that surpassed them all. -- Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star

Griffin: Griffin has had more spectacular performances this season, games in which his numbers were gaudier and his preternatural brilliance more obvious. But across 12 games in this memorable rookie season, he had not authored a more meaningful performance than Monday night's nationally televised 17-16 victory over the New York Giants. It was a victory that completed the Redskins' return to relevance after the bye-week soul-searching engendered by a 3-6 start, and moved them from the fringes of playoff contention to the beating heart of it. At 6-6, the Redskins now trail the NFC East-leading Giants by just one game, with an easier remaining schedule than their rivals. -- Dave Sheinin, Washington Post

Team savior scale (1-5)

Luck: For much of the game, Luck was inconsequential, and, in reality, the Lions probably should have won this one. But Luck also created some magic in the fourth quarter, and the final play of the game was awesome. I give Luck a 4 (last week was a 3; overall this season, he's a 71.7 percent team savior).

Griffin: Like usual, Griffin had some help on offense in beating his opponent (particularly, Alfred Morris and Pierre Garcon), but Griffin still was special vs. the Giants. Like usual. He gets a 4 (last week was a 4; overall this season, he's a 70 percent team savior).

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