Andrew Luck was always going to be compared to Peyton Manning; young phenoms are likened to established stars in sports all the time. The comparisons then, naturally, increased tenfold when Luck was drafted first overall by Manning’s Indianapolis Colts, trading away their best player ever to make room for the stud rookie.

Three years into Luck’s career with the Colts –and Manning’s time with the Denver Broncos – the question now becomes when will Luck pass Manning on the list of top NFL quarterbacks?

An argument could be made that Luck has already done so – he passed for 34 more yards and one more touchdown in the regular season – but until he does it in the postseason, Manning will still pull rank.

Luck of course, has just that opportunity Sunday, and the timing may be right. Luck is entering his prime just as Manning’s window appears to be closing.

Luck enters the game with a receiving corps that could rival any of Manning’s pass-catching groups from his Colts days. The group is led by Reggie Wayne, who has transcended the Manning and Luck eras. The 36-year-old finished second on the team with 779 receiving yards, behind only TY Hilton who finished with 1,345 receiving yards – sixth in the league – and seven touchdowns.

Other players that contributed to the team’s league-leading pass offence included tight ends Coby Fleener (774 receiving yards) and Dwayne Allen (395 receiving yards) who each had a team-high eight receiving touchdowns, and backup receivers Hakeem Nicks (405 receiving yards) and Donte Moncrief (444 receiving yards).

Luck and the receivers will have to step up because not much can be expected from the run game. Indy finished ranked 22nd in the run game at just more than 100 yards per game on average. Ahmad Bradshaw’s season-ending leg injury was a big blow to the Colts’ rushing attack, but taking a look back at Bradshaw’s injury history, Indy probably should have known this was going to happen at some point.

Trent Richardson simply isn’t a good running back, and proved that once again this season, which is partly why Dan Herron and Zurlon Tipton split carries in the team’s Wild Card win over Cincinnati. Richardson was battling an illness but was declared active before not getting any touches.

Regardless who leads the rushing attack against Denver Sunday, the Broncos’ second-ranked rush defence (79.8) likely won’t be too worried they’ll be getting beaten on the ground. Of course the Broncos pass defence is pretty good too, ninth in the league averaging 225.4 yards against per game, but they’re up against a much stiffer test.

Indy’s defence is a little closer to the middle of the pack. They finished 11th against the pass, giving up just 229.3 yards per game on average, but their run defence finished just 18th in the league at 113.4 yards per game on average.

The team’s current stars are on offence and the old household names on the Colts’ defence are now retired or elsewhere, but there are solid players that will need to have big games against Manning and the Broncos’ offence for Indy to have a chance Sunday.

It’s a poorly kept secret the best strategy against Manning is to pressure him. Linebackers Jonathan Newsome, Erik Walden, Bjoern Werner, and D’Qwell Jackson – and more importantly their 20 combined sacks – must be busy chasing Manning around this weekend because if the 38-year-old Hall of Famer is given time in the pocket, he’ll make it a long day for the entire Colts’ defensive unit.

One other Indy defender to keep an eye on is corner Vontae Davis. Manning has nothing but weapons at his disposal but if Davis can eliminate one of them, or even better add to his four interceptions on the season, the rest of the Colts’ secondary will have an easier time keeping the Broncos in check.

Former Bronco Mike Adams would surely love to have a big game against his former teammates.

The storyline is easy and while many think Manning still has at least one trump card to play over Luck left in his hand – the Broncos are currently seven-point favourites in Las Vegas – if Luck is really one of the great ones, he may be able to orchestrate a big-game upset even before he’s fully ripe. And a win would score one for Luck in the comparisons in another way too; Manning has a reputation for fading when the spotlight is brightest.