INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Andrew Luck might be playing the best

football of his career.He’s still going to need help reaching the playoffs with mounting injuries threatening to derail the Indianapolis Colts‘ late postseason push.One week after starting center Ryan Kelly went down with a left knee injury and one day after coach Frank Reich announced tight end Jack Doyle would miss the rest of the season with an injured kidney Jabaal Sheard Jersey , Luck and his teammates started preparing for the closing five-game stretch that will determine whether they end a three-year playoff drought.“We’ve done it before,” tight end Eric Ebron said Tuesday said when asked about the adjustments. “Everybody has to take on a heavier workload.”Doyle was injured late in the third quarter or early in the fourth, returned for two plays before leaving for good and then wound up in the hospital Sunday night for what Reich called a “procedure.”The team provided no immediate update on whether Doyle had been released from the hospital during Tuesday’s availability.The adaptations start with Ebron, the lone remaining healthy tight end among the five listed on last week’s depth chart. He’s already caught 11 touchdown passes this season, matching his previous four-year total and tying Dallas Clark’s single-season franchise record by a tight end and has played the way Detroit envisioned when it made Ebron a first-round draft pick in 2014.It’s unclear whether Mo Alie-Cox, Ryan Hewitt or Erik Swoope could return from injuries this week. All three were inactive last weekend, and Reich’s offense has benefited from creating mismatches among the tight ends.“We are hopeful and optimistic that some of those guys — one or two or all three of those guys — will be ready,” Reich said Monday. “They have been making good progress.”But the hits have come hard and fast for Indy (6-5), which has won five straight to jump back into the playoff conversation.Kelly missed last week’s game with a sprained medial collateral ligament and without him, the Colts allowed their first sack in six games. Luck went 249 consecutive drop-backs without being sacked Pierre Desir Color Rush Jersey , the longest streak of his pro career.Kelly’s status for this week is still to be determined though he said Tuesday he felt much better and was running on the treadmill.“It’s been progressing pretty well,” said Kelly, who was replaced in the lineup by midseason signee Evan Boehm. “The brace has helped.”Not enough?Running back Marlon Mack entered the concussion protocol during the fourth quarter Sunday, did not return and now his status also is in doubt this weekend.If he can’t go, the Colts will be down to their two rookies — Nyheim Hines and Jordan Wilkins — and possibly Jonathan Williams, presuming nobody else is signed. Williams hasn’t played since Indy signed him to the practice squad Oct. 2. He was promoted to the active roster last week.One saving grace for Indy: Rookie linebacker Darius Leonard escaped a serious knee injury that briefly knocked him out of Sunday’s game after the first offensive play. Leonard returned and finished the game and continues to lead the NFL with 114 tackles despite missing one game in October.But losing Doyle may create the most damaging impact for Indy.He followed his first Pro Bowl selection with 26 receptions for 245 yards and two touchdowns in six games. The Colts went 1-4 when he missed five games earlier this season with a bad hip and they had won all four since his Week 8 return against Oakland.Doyle’s absence leaves a big hole on the field — and in the locker room.“It hurts,” Ebron said. “I’m more hurt because of the type of player he is and what he means to the team and to me. But we’ve done it before. We just have to adjust a few things.” PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carson Wentz has been waiting for this moment since he tore up his knee last December.No. 11 will be back under center for the Philadelphia Eagles (1-1) against the Indianapolis Colts (1-1) on Sunday after watching his teammates win the Super Bowl without him in February, and missing the first two games this season.“It’s been a long time coming,” Wentz said. “It’s been quite the grind of an offseason. There’s a lot of excitement, a lot of built-up almost anxiety over when it was going to be that time https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Kemoko-Turay-Jersey , and almost relief finally being cleared to get back out there.”Nick Foles, the Super Bowl MVP in Philadelphia’s 41-33 win over New England, returns to the sideline to make way for Wentz, who finished third in NFL MVP voting after setting a single-season franchise record with 33 touchdown passes and helping the Eagles go from 7-9 to 13-3.Wentz will wear a brace on his left knee — he tore his ACL and LCL in Week 14 diving into the end zone on a scramble. He doesn’t plan to change the way he plays, but understands the importance of avoiding hits.“I feel extremely confident moving around, on the run,” he said. “Even last year, I never said I’m a running quarterback. I never want to be. But I’ll find ways to extend time in the pocket and make plays down the field. I don’t think that’s ever going anywhere.”Eagles coach Doug Pederson isn’t going to alter his game plan or his philosophy to accommodate a quarterback returning from injury, even if it’s the face of the franchise.“I’m not going to coach scared. I’m not going to coach paranoid,” Pederson said. “I’m not going to go in thinking Anthony Castonzo Jersey , ‘Oh no, we can’t do ‘this,’ we can’t do ‘that.’ We just have to continue to go play and I (have) to coach that way. That’s where the confidence with the team comes, by doing that.”Here are some things to know about the Colts-Eagles matchup:REICH’S RETURN:Colts coach Frank Reich was Philadelphia’s offensive coordinator the previous two seasons and is one of the most liked guys to come through the team’s building. He has a close relationship with Pederson and texted back and forth with him this week.“I am as close with Doug as I am with anybody in this profession,” Reich said. “I just think the world of him. I think he’s a superior coach. He’s an incredible coach and an incredible person.”The familiarity could give the Colts an advantage.“We feel like they know us and we know them, even though we don’t see each other every year,” Pederson said. “I’m excited to see Frank again. But at the same time we’re up on the things that he could make them aware of.”FAVORITE TARGETWentz will have Jordan Matthews back in the huddle with him. Matthews was traded to Buffalo last August but signed with the Eagles this week to bolster a depleted receivers corps. He was Wentz’s top target in 2016 and the two were close friends off the field.“Obviously, with Jordan, I feel good with him,” Wentz said. “He was gone only one season. He’s picking up things pretty quickly.”CAPTAIN ANDREWThe Colts got Andrew Luck back in Week 1 after playing without him for an entire season. Luck is benefiting from Reich’s new offense that’s designed for quick passes. His completion rate is 71.4 percent Ryan Kelly Color Rush Jersey , but he does have three picks.“I feel I have a lot to improve on and that’s exciting,” Luck said. “It makes practice fun.BURNED DEEPRyan Fitzpatrick torched Philadelphia’s secondary last week in Tampa’s 27-21 win, throwing for 402 yards and four TDs, including a pair of 75-yard scores. The Eagles know they have to eliminate the big plays.“We were a sloppy defense in that game,” defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Our tackling wasn’t as good as it normally is, our technique wasn’t as good as it normally is. Our pursuit and things like that got a little bit sloppy at times. We need to do a better job.”MISSING MANThe Eagles traded up in the second round to select tight end Dallas Goedert and expectations were high after an impressive preseason. But Goedert has only played 34 snaps and has one catch through two games. Considering the Eagles were missing two of their top three receivers last week, it’s surprising Goedert wasn’t part of the offense.“We have a talented player in Dallas, and we need to find more ways to get him involved,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said.