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Anatomy Of The Drives: Eagles Edition

Intro: The “Anatomy Of The Drives” series is back. Here’s a look at the three touchdown drives the Colts had in their home opener on Monday night.

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INDIANAPOLIS –**

Ahmad Bradshaw's one-yard touchdown catchThe scene:Down 3-0 with 9:48 to play in the first quarter, the Colts took over at their own 28-yard line.The anatomy of the drive:9 plays for 72 yards in 4:30Key play:With 17 first half points, the Colts had a very solid start on Monday night. However, the initial handful of plays didn't look too promising. That changed on a third-and-one from the Eagles 37-yard line. That's when Ahmad Bradshaw went off tackle left for a 29-yard gain. The Colts longest rush of the year pushed them into Eagles territory and the offense would follow with first downs on the next two plays.The score:On a third-and-goal from the six-yard line, Bradshaw caught a pass for five yards. Had Andrew Luck seen Bradshaw a bit earlier in his progression, or had the Colts running back seen a more open running lane to the left after his catch, there probably wouldn't have been a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. In another three-tight end set (with Jack Doyle lined up as a fullback), the Eagles sold out on the run. It was another unbalanced line look for the Colts with Dwayne Allen lining up as the right tackle and normal right tackle Gosder Cherilus switched to the left side of the formation, next to left tackle Anthony Castonzo. With just a subtle play-action, Luck found a wide open Bradshaw for the Colts first touchdown of the evening.**

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Jack Doyle's two-yard touchdown catchThe scene: Leading 10-6 with 6:36 to play in the second quarter, the Colts took over at their own 42-yard line.The anatomy of the drive: 10 plays for 58 yards in 5:23.Key play: When the Colts started this drive midway through the second quarter, Reggie Wayne was still looking for his first catch of the night. The drive didn't start off promising with Trent Richardson losing three yards and then Wayne catching a pass for no gain. Facing a third-and-13, Luck had plenty of time to find Wayne free for a 19-yard reception at the Eagles 42-yard line.The score: The drive continued to move deeper into Eagles territory. Eventually the Colts faced a second-and-goal from the two-yard line with around 90 seconds to go in the half. It was another three-tight end look from the Colts with Doyle again lining up at fullback. This time the Colts ran a counter, play action with Doyle coming back across the line of scrimmage to the wide side of the field. Luck rolled out to the far right and Doyle would break free from Eagles coverage. With a pylon leap, Doyle's stretch crossed the goal line for his first career NFL touchdown.


Ahmad Bradshaw's seven-yard touchdown catchThe scene:
Tied at 20 with 2:44 to play in the third quarter, the Colts took over at their own 20-yard line.The anatomy of the drive: 12 plays for 80 yards in 5:55.Key play: It was a quiet first half for T.Y. Hilton, but he came alive on this final scoring drive. The Colts had a second-and-eight from the Eagles 43-yard line and heavy pressure came towards Luck. It didn't seem to faze the Colts signal caller as he took hits from a pair of Eagles defenders and delivered an on-target strike to Hilton for 13 yards.The score: Once again it was a three-tight end set that led to a touchdown. With Doyle lined up as an h-back offset to the right, his cut block freed plenty of green turf for Bradshaw coming out of the backfield into the right flat. Routes by Dwayne Allen and Reggie Wayne kept the attention to the middle of the field and by the time Bradshaw turned up field, no Eagles defender could get to him before he reached the goal line for the second time on Monday night.

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