Quick Recap: Bears 41, Colts 21

It wasn't the kind of NFL debut Andrew Luck was looking for Sunday, as the Bears dominated throughout on both sides of the ball, beating the Colts 41-21 at Soldier Field in Chicago. Things looked like they'd be really good in the first three minutes after a Jerrell Freeman easy interception and touchdown. But the Colts turned the ball over five times, including four by Luck, and you aren't going to beat anyone in the NFL doing that.

Some observations:

• Luck played ok in his opener, and he looked much more comfortable as the game went along. He was pretty jumpy early on, and sailed quite a few throws, but overall it wasn't as terrible as his statline may indicate.
• The Offensive Line wasn't good before it lost two starters, and was god awful without Joe Reitz and Winston Justice, who left the game in the second half. The Colts desperately need help up front to protect Luck, or he's going to be running for his life all season.
• I'm quite glad Brandon Marshall is in the NFC, and the Colts won't have to see him again for four years. I think he's the second biggest pickup of the offseason.
• Two guys who played really well on Defense were Robert Mathis (five tackles, two sacks) and Kavell Conner. Also props to Jerrell Freeman for the pick six early, giving everyone hope the Colts could hang for the day. Seems like such a long time ago.
• On the flip side, there was little to no pressure on Cutler all game, and without going back and looking specifically at it, I don't know if it was because of very few blitzes, or the Bears were just doing a really good job picking it up. Based on history, I'm going to go with the first explanation.

• Vontae Davis had a rough first game, committing a couple Pass Interference penalties (both cost the Colts a combined 1 yard, so not really a big deal), but did get burnt deep late by Alshon Jeffrey. Hopefully it isn't the start of a trend, and just a bad day.
• Donald Brown looked good running the ball, when he wasn't swallowed up in the backfield thanks to his offensive line. He had two very bad drops on passes where he didn't look the ball all the way in.
• So what was Tim Jennings' problem with the Colts? Only logical explanation was coaching, as he looked quite good today.
• Several Colts sustained injuries, including Dwight Freeney early on and Antoine Bethea late, but never came out of the game, even though he was heavily bandaged up.

No where to go but up from here . Next week is a very winnable one against the Vikings at home. Time to regroup.