Colts rout Rams in exhibition opener

~ Indianapolis' touted rookie Andrew Luck threw a touchdown on his first pass in a 38-3 preseason rout

INDIANAPOLIS -- Andrew Luck knows life in the NFL can't be this easy for a rookie.

The No. 1 overall draft pick threw his first NFL pass for a long touchdown, just like Peyton Manning in 1998, then led Indianapolis to two more touchdowns. Luck one-upped his predecessor by winning Sunday's preseason opener 38-3 over St. Louis -- Indy's first preseason-opening win since 1994.

"To get a win, get in the game and put some drives together is great," Luck said. "But I realize, and the guys in the locker room realize, it's a preseason game and things will be different as the season goes along."

Luck might have the toughest job in football this season -- replacing Manning, the longtime face of Indy's franchise.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck (12) looks for a receiver in the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the St. Louis Rams in Indianapolis, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

But he showed everyone Sunday that he can do whatever is asked.

Colts coaches wanted the man billed as the most polished NFL rookie since Manning to take 20 to 25 snaps. He got 24.

They wanted to keep him upright, and though Luck hit the ground twice, he was not sacked.

They wanted him to show his command of the offense, and in less than one half, Luck seemed to have Manning's playbook down pat, from the perfect baseball slide to rushing his team to the line of scrimmage so the Rams couldn't challenge a catch on the sideline.

The rookie quarterback wound up 10 of 16 for 188 yards with two TD passes and a quarterback rating of 142.6. Three of the incompletions were drops, two were throwaways, and only one pass, the deep out that rookie T.Y. Hilton barely caught on the sideline, came close to being picked off.

"I know we picked him up off the turf a couple times, but he's a big, strong, athletic guy and he can take a hit," Colts first-year coach Chuck Pagano said. "We don't want him taking too many, but to see him perform the way he did and do the things that he did under pressure, I thought he handled it well."

After everything the Colts endured during the run up to drafting Luck -- the injury to Manning, an 0-13 start in 2011, the release of many fan favorites including Manning during a tumultuous offseason -- Luck quickly turned the page on the past with a start fans may never forget.,

With the rookie quarterback under pressure on his first play, Luck calmly stepped forward and dumped the ball off to Brown, who darted up the field with blockers in front, then cut from right to left and outran the defense to the end zone. Luck pumped his fist in the air and jogged to the sideline with a broad smile across his face.

The Rams pressured Luck most of the day, yet couldn't force him into mistakes or get him on the ground.

The Rams' offense moved the ball on its first two series, under Sam Bradford, but stalled. St. Louis did get a 37-yard field goal when Kellen Clemens was running the offense.

Otherwise, it was a daylong struggle for Jeff Fisher's new team.

"It's kind of an unusual game because the offense puts a drive together and then, bang, they're back on the field one play later because we gave up a touchdown," the Rams coach said. "Then you're trying to catch up with plays for your defense and then you can't stop them and then you can't get the plays for your offense. We tried to get as many plays as we could on tape and we'll move on."

Bradford, the No. 1 overall pick in 2010 and the Offensive Rookie of the Year, was 7 of 9 for 57 yards and recovered his own fumble. Clemens was 4 of 6 for 18 yards.

And the feature attraction stole the show.

"He's a good player. He's got mobility and he sees well," Fisher said about Luck. "He has got arm strength. Coach [Bruce] Arians has done a great job with him so this far in the offense."