Colts Wide Receiver Reggie Wayne Impresses in Return

It took just one play until we knew that Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne was back.  On the first offensive snap of the game for either team, Andrew Luck dropped back to pass and hit Reggie Wayne for a gain of 22-yards.

From then on, he looked like the same ol' Reggie.

A year ago against the Broncos, Wayne tore his ACL and it forced him to miss the remainder of the season.  He worked hard in the offseason to get back and he returned to start training camp.  He looked great in camp, but we wanted to see him in a game.  After all, at 36-years old and coming off of a torn ACL, there had to be some questions, right?  Wrong.  Reggie looked great in camp, he looked good in the two preseason drives he played in, and he had a great game on Sunday night.

He played in 69 of the 74 offensive snaps (93%), the most of any skill position player, and he led the Colts with 9 catches for 98 yards.  He was targeted 13 times, more than any other Colt.

"Just to finish the game, show my teammates that I was back out there,'' Wayne told the Indianapolis Star's Mike Chappell.  "Like I've been saying, I don't have anything else to prove to anybody else.

"I just wanted to show my teammates I was ready to go in the foxhole with them, go back out there and go to battle. I wanted to finish the game and that's what I was able to do.''

The Colts offense took to the air a lot on Sunday night (dropping back 61 times and having a designed run on just 9 plays), and they needed Reggie Wayne.  True to what we've come to expect from Reggie, he stepped up.  He just wanted to finish the game.  He wanted to go the whole way.  He did that and so much more, as he led the Colts in targets, receptions, and yards and stepped right back into his role as Andrew Luck's go-to guy.

There was one scare, however, and it came on a screen pass on which Reggie went down immediately after catching it with what looked like a right knee injury - his surgically repaired knee.  He was slow to get up and walked gingerly to the sideline, but he returned after just one play out.  "It scared me more than anything," Wayne told Chappell.  "It kind of aggravated it a little bit but I was able to tough it out.''

Reggie Wayne's knee held up, and his return to regular season action has to be considered a success.  9 catches for 98 yards in his first game back for a 36-year old coming off of a torn ACL?  That's impressive.  Welcome back, Reggie Wayne!