Jan 3, 2015 4 min read

INDIANAPOLIS – Andrew Luck and Andy Dalton have similar achievements listed on their resumes – and similar glaring holes.

Each made the Pro Bowl as a rookie. Each has three straight seasons with double-digit wins.

Neither has missed the playoffs, and both understand their legacies will be determined by postseason successes and failures.

Today, the two young quarterbacks get another chance to fill in some of those gaps when the Colts and Bengals meet in a wild-card round game.

“I don’t think just getting to the playoffs has ever been good enough in this building,” Luck said this week.

The Colts’ franchise quarterback learned his lesson the hard way.

After directing one of the greatest one-season turnarounds in NFL history in 2012, Luck came up short against eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore in the first round of the playoffs.

Last year, after engineering the second-biggest comeback in postseason history, Luck spent the offseason pondering how to reduce turnovers. He blamed himself for throwing three interceptions that helped put Indy in a 28-point deficit against Kansas City, and then threw four more picks the next week in a 43-22 loss at New England.

Now Luck is eager to prove two-time AFC South champion Indianapolis (11-5) is ready to take another big step.

Dalton’s postseason problems are just as obvious.

In three playoff games, all losses, he’s thrown one touchdown pass, six interceptions and accumulated a passer rating of 56.2. Another defeat would put Dalton in a tie with Warren Moon for most consecutive opening-round playoff losses by a quarterback.

History is not on the Bengals’ side, either. Cincinnati (10-5-1) is 0-6 in road playoff games, has lost seven straight in Indy and hasn’t won in the playoffs since January 1991.

If Dalton ends that misery, he might finally silence the critics.

“Winning in general is how quarterbacks are judged,” Dalton said. “If you win a lot in the regular season but you haven’t won a lot in the postseason, then they’re going to say that you couldn’t do something.”

Romo back, Stafford seeks playoff win in Dallas: ony Romo’s first playoff game in five years is a second chance for the quarterback on the other side, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford.

Who knows how many more opportunities there will be for the 34-year-old Romo with the Dallas Cowboys, who have one playoff win since the last time they were anywhere near the Super Bowl nearly 20 years ago.

The Lions? They go into today’s wild-card game at Stafford’s hometown team with just one postseason victory in the Super Bowl era after Stafford lost to New Orleans in his only try three years ago.

“I feel like I have been in the middle of it right now so I’m not too worried about it,” said Stafford, who grew up in the Dallas area. “I’m just trying to win every game if I can. You know you have to deal with all that kind of stuff and had some success and some years I’d like to have back, too. It’s an ongoing process.”

“Coach Process” – that’s what Jason Garrett is called sometimes because of his affinity for the word – led the Cowboys (12-4) to the NFC East title after three straight 8-8 seasons ended with a loss that kept them out of the playoffs and fueled questions about his job security that are gone now.

Romo was the league’s most efficient quarterback with a boost from NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray, who gained 1,845 yards behind a stout offensive line rebuilt through three first-round picks in the past four drafts – tackle Tyron Smith, center Travis Frederick and guard Zack Martin.

Apparently knowing he had more help, Romo predicted in training camp that his best years were ahead of him despite back surgery that ended his 2013 season a game early. And his message didn’t change after another back injury kept him out of one game this year.

“I think more than anything it’s just about playing the right way and being the best version of yourself and figuring out how to create that,” said Romo, who is 1-3 in the playoffs after beating Philadelphia and losing to Minnesota during the 2009 season. “We’ve done a really good job being very efficient and explosive in the pass game and we’ll continue hopefully to do that.”