default-cbs-image

Week 13 of "Monday Night Football" was super simple. The team that is still fighting for a playoff spot (the Colts) came out and thrashed the team that had nothing to play for (the Jets). The final score? 41-10. And that's how the 3-9 Jets were officially eliminated from the postseason.

So, it turns out the Colts did miss Andrew Luck, who returned from a concussion. With Luck back under center, the Colts have to be the favorites to win the AFC South. He demonstrated that much Monday, albeit against a Jets team that didn't even look like it cared.

He started 6 of 6 for 93 yards, throwing two touchdowns to Dwayne Allen on the Colts' first two drives.


You know you're on point when you're completing back-foot, across-the -field passes like this:

At halftime, Luck had as many touchdowns as incompletions (3). He added his fourth touchdown on the first series of the third quarter. By the time he was pulled early in the fourth quarter, Luck had gone 22 of 28 for 278 yards, four touchdowns, and zero picks.

So yeah, Luck is back, unfortunately for the Texans and Titans. With the win, the Colts tied those two teams atop the AFC South, and the Colts and Texans will meet next weekend for a game that could decide the division. In a three-team race for the division crown, the Texans are the only team lacking a starting-caliber quarterback, which is why the Titans and Colts should be the favorites, even if the Texans have the easiest remaining schedule.

If the Colts do emerge as the victors, not many teams are going to want to stop Luck in a playoff game.

But on Monday night, it wasn't just the Colts' offense for a change. Their defense, which entered the week ranked last in DVOA, dominated the Jets' offense. Obviously, a lot of the Colts' success was due to the Jets' lack of a quarterback, but let's give them some credit for making the Jets look like a high school football team. If they just manage to be not totally incompetent down the stretch, the Colts could be a dangerous team. Of course, that's one big if.

The good news? They get Brock Osweiler next. So, it could be a repeat performance.

Here are five more takeaways from the game:

All Dwayne Allen does is catch TDs

In the first half, Dwayne Allen caught three passes. All three went for touchdowns.

The first two were the result of perfect play calls and the ineptitude of the Jets' defense, but his third was an awesome catch in tight coverage.

Remember Dallas Clark? Allen tied his Colts' single-game record.

Hopefully you had him in your fantasy lineups. The Jets were allergic to him.

The Colts didn't mind.

Allen ended up catching another pass, which shockingly didn't result in a touchdown.

The Jets were embarrassed

It took one offensive series for the sparse crowd at MetLife Stadium to boo Ryan Fitzpatrick after the Jets went three-and-out. It took two T.Y. Hilton catches for the crowd to boo Darrelle Revis on the Jets' first defensive series.

Their drive chart looked like this:

  • Punt
  • Punt
  • Punt
  • FG
  • Punt
  • INT
  • End of half
  • Punt
  • INT
  • TD
  • Downs
  • INT

The Colts' drive chart looked a bit different. Before the Colts pulled Luck early in the fourth quarter, the Jets gave up points on seven of their first nine defensive series.

The Colts were certainly aided by the sloppy Jets. The Jets committed two personal fouls for late hits out of bounds in the first quarter. In the second quarter, just after they journeyed down inside the 5-yard line, they were called for another 15-yard penalty after the play. They settled for a field goal. At that point in the game, the Jets had three personal fouls and four first downs.

Despite the fact that the Colts entered the game with arguably the worst defense in football, the Jets couldn't move the football. At halftime, they trailed 24-3 -- and it was only a 21-point game because Colts tight end Jack Doyle fumbled a yard short of the end zone in the final minute of the half, which resulted in a Jets touchback.

The second half didn't go much better. To open up the third quarter, Luck guided the Colts to a 11-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. At that point, it didn't really matter if Todd Bowles benched Fitzpatrick for Bryce Petty. With his defense in complete disarray, the Jets' chances were already over.

For what it's worth, Bowles did decide enough was enough. He benched Fitzpatrick after his 5-of-12, 81-yard, one-pick first half in favor of Petty.

Petty completed his first pass, which sent the Jets crowd into a frenzy. Just kidding -- he completed the pass but the crowd erupted because two fans sprinted onto the field and were taken down by security guards.

Petty didn't fare much better than Fitzpatrick. He went 11 of 25 for 135 yards, two picks, and a 41.3 passer rating. Sure, he threw a deep touchdown to Robby Anderson in the fourth quarter, but that didn't come until the duo failed to hook up on what felt like a million incomplete passes. Most of those bombs were overthrown and one was dropped.

Despite his poor outing, Bowles revealed that Petty will be the Jets' starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. The Ryan FitzTragic era in New York is over.

That decision doesn't seem like it matters considering the state of the Jets season, but it might matter for Bowles' future. Bowles won 10 games a year ago, but after this embarrassing outing, it's worth wondering if he's on the hot seat. He got hired for his work as a defensive coordinator, but his defense in New York can't stop anything.

It might be a big final four games for Bowles. If the Jets continue to perform like they did Monday night, they could potentially cost their head coach his job.

Jets fans didn't want to be Jets fans

With good reason, no one wanted to go to the game. As CBSSports.com's John Breech wrote earlier Monday, "the NFL's official ticket exchange at Ticketmaster.com had several tickets selling for just $5."

That's right. It would've cost you more money to buy a burrito bowl (without guac) at Chipotle.

And still, nobody showed up.


That's what happens when your team's best quarterback is Fitzpatrick. This also happens:

T.Y. Hilton might be underrated

Everyone knows that T.Y. Hilton is Luck's top target, but he still might be underrated. On Monday night, Hilton caught nine passes for 146 yards. In the process, he eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark on the year.

That marks the fourth straight 1,000-yard season for Hilton. The only time he didn't reach 1,000 yards was his rookie year.

What's next?

The Jets' season is over, so they'll get to play spoiler for the remainder of the year. They won't get a chance to do that next week, as they'll play the 49ers in what might be the worst game of the season, though it might be tough to top Monday night's game. Games against the Dolphins, Patriots, and Bills loom after next week, so they'll have the opportunity to spoil some seasons.

The Colts, meanwhile, are now tied with the Texans and Titans for the lead in the AFC South. Next up, they'll host the Texans, which will be the biggest game of the year for both teams. The last time they met, the Texans won in overtime.

The Colts' remaining schedule isn't exactly a cake walk. After the Texans, they'll face the Vikings and Raiders before ending the season with an automatic win over the Jaguars.