By Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane)
HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- J.J. Watt is quite familiar with Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, and when the two will face off in an AFC Wild Card Playoff Game at NRG Stadium it will be for the ninth time. There's a lot that stands out about the Colts quarterback, but on Tuesday, Watt mentioned one thing in particular.
He's always happy," Watt said. "Even after a sack, I don't know how he's always happy, but he's a great competitor."
Watt would know. He's sacked Luck 11 times the first eight times the two have faced one another with three of those coming this season. Luck was sacked just 18 times during the 2018 season, one third came against the Texans, though Watt says he could tell when the two teams met December 9 that the Colts and Luck had really started to make a point of getting rid of the football quicker.
"He makes quick reads, he's a smart guy, he knows where he's going with the ball, tries not to put himself in too much danger."
Luck returned to the field in 2018 after missing all of 2017 due to a shoulder injury. He threw 39 touchdowns while completing over 67 percent of his passes and played all 16 games for the first time since 2014. He tossed six of his touchdowns against the Texans with the Colts averaging 29 points in those games.
"He's a good player," Watt said, "He's a really good player, so it's always fun when you have good competition, especially a team we see twice a year, so I've seen for many years throughout my career going against him."
Luck won't be the faster of the two quarterbacks playing in Saturday's game, but while he doesn't possess DeShaun Watson's speed, he can elude pressure and keep plays alive, and though his 148 rushing yards in 2018 were a career low, Luck still ran for 12 first downs.
"There's a ton of quarterbacks now in this league that are kind of going toward that way where they can do both with their feet and with their arms. We have a lot of practice with it. You have to make sure you're sound in your rush lanes, everybody knows their assignment, does what they're supposed to do and just play our game and make the tackle."
Due to injuries to both players, J.J. Watt and Andrew Luck had not met since 2014 before this season, but as they get ready to play for the third time in three months Watt made it apparent Tuesday that he missed playing the Colts #12.
"I love playing against him. I have a lot of respect for him and I'm looking forward to another matchup."
