EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Andrew Luck and a balanced Indianapolis Colts receiving corps proved too much for the New York Giants to handle.

Nine Colts caught passes from Luck, none of them finishing with more than four receptions, and the quarterback fired four touchdown passes in Indianapolis’ 40-24 win Monday at MetLife Stadium.

Luck completed 25 of 46 passes for 354 yards with no interceptions. It was his seventh consecutive 300-yard passing performance, prompting coach Chuck Pagano to award him the team’s offensive game ball.

“He’s playing outstanding,” Pagano said. “We know how tough he is. He stands in there and finds a way to get the ball into the playmakers’ hands, and he does a great job of managing things at the line of scrimmage.”

The Colts (6-3) led 16-3 at the half, then started piling it on the Giants on their first drive of the third quarter.

Luck connected with wide receiver T.Y. Hilton on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Giants cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie nearly intercepted the ball, only to have Hilton snatch it away from the defender to widen Indianapolis’ lead to 23-3.

“As I was coming down, (Hilton) was coming up and he hit the ball, adjusted and made the play, taking it on the way down,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “That’s a play I have to finish, that’s a play I have to make.”

The Giants’ offense, which continues to struggle to establish the run, finally started to string some big plays together, with two of the team’s 2014 draft picks getting things going.

Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. showed his speed and elusiveness in weaving his way down the field on a 59-yard catch and run.

Then running back Andre Williams, who gained only 19 yards on nine first-half carries, made a 24-yard reception to set up a first-and-goal. He punched the ball into the end zone on the ensuing play from 1 yard out to close the Colts’ lead to 23-10.

The Giants’ brief glimmer of sunshine was all too soon covered by clouds. Luck hit wide receiver Reggie Wayne for a 40-yard touchdown, restoring the Colts’ 20-point margin.

Giants quarterback Eli Manning (27 of 52 for 359 yards and two touchdowns) subsequently was sacked and fumbled. The ball was scooped up by Colts safety Sergio Brown to set up a first-and-goal at the New York 4-yard line.

Two plays later, Luck found tight end Dwayne Allen uncovered in the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown to make it 37-10 with 4:31 left in the third quarter.

Indianapolis kicker Adam Vinatieri, who connected for three field goals in the first half, added another in the third quarter, this one going for 43 yards.

The Giants (3-5) picked up a couple of garbage-time touchdowns. The first came on a 5-yard pass from Manning to tight end Larry Donnell. The second was scored by wide receiver Corey Washington, whose first NFL career touchdown was a 1-yard reception.

Beckham finished with eight catches for 156 yards. Tight end Coby Fleener led the Colts with 77 receiving yards on four catches, while fellow tight end Dwayne Allen contributed four receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown.

Luck connected with Fleener on consecutive second-quarter completions totaling 53 yards.

The first of those completions, for 21 yards, looked to be incomplete. However, before Giants coach Tom Coughlin could make up his mind whether to challenge the play, Luck took advantage of the confusion on the New York side, got his team lined up, and found Fleener again for a 32-yard touchdown.

All told, the Colts tight ends accounted for eight of Luck’s 25 completions, 125 of his 354 yards and two of his four touchdown passes.

Giants linebacker Jacquian Williams said the Colts’ reliance on their tight ends came as no surprise to the defense.

“I expected it,” he said. “They just made good catches and they made key plays tonight, and we needed to do a better job stopping them.”

Fleener’s scoring reception was the Colts’ lone touchdown in the first half, but Vinatieri booted two 48-yard field goals and a 31-yarder before halftime.

What the Colts said:

“Definitely. You can do that playing within the scheme. Everybody sees the game film, so I think it will speak for itself.” — Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, on if there was any sense of satisfaction showing the Giants, his former team, that he can still play the game at a high level. Nicks finished with three catches for a season-high 44 yards.

What the Giants said:

“To me, it means nothing without a win. You’re out there making plays, but at the end of the day, you look at the record and if you look on Google, it says ‘lost.'” — Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who finished with a team-leading eight receptions for 156 yards, the best showing of his rookie season.

What we learned about the Colts:

1. Quarterback Andrew Luck is a bona fide stud. Luck finished with 354 passing yards, his seventh consecutive 300-yard performance. The NFL record for the most consecutive 300-yard passing games is nine, set by Drew Brees in 2011-2012 and matched by Brees in 2012-2013.

2. The Colts own the Giants and Monday night. Indianapolis won its third straight matchup with the Giants and beat New York for the fourth time in the past five meetings. The Colts also improved to 9-4 in Monday night games.

–TE Coby Fleener produced a season-high 77 receiving yards on four catches, topping his previous best mark of 64 yards, also on four receptions, two weeks ago vs. the Bengals.

–CB Vontae Davis led the Colts with two passes defensed, increasing his total to a league-leading 14 for the season. Davis passed his single-season high of 12 passes defensed, set in 2010 and 2013.

–TE Dwayne Allen tied John Mackey for the fifth-most receiving touchdowns in a single season by a tight end in Colts history. He caught a 2-yard scoring pass from QB Andrew Luck in the third quarter, giving Indianapolis a 37-10 lead.

–DT Ricky Jean-Francois hurt a finger in the first half Monday, but he played in the second half.

–LB Victor Butler left in the second half after sustaining a hamstring injury.

What we learned about the Giants:

1. The Giants aren’t hearing their head coach. Tom Coughlin begged his team to play above the X’s and O’s, yet when there were plays to be made, such as a couple of missed interceptions or the numerous missed sacks against Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, the Giants just couldn’t deliver. New York also fell to 10-16 in games played following the bye week, the loss to the Colts snapping a six-game winning streak.

2. The team depth is lacking. The coaches talk about the “next man up” and how every player on the roster is good enough to be a starter. However, there is a reason why some players are career starters and others are career backups.

The Giants are fast learning that there is a significant drop-off in ability between the starters and backups. Just look at the running game, which has struggled since Rashad Jennings was shelved due to a knee injury. The pass defense has been burned for 13 big-play passes of 30 or more yards thanks to the season-ending losses of slot corners Walter Thurmond and Trumaine McBride. The passing game hasn’t been the same since slot receiver Victor Cruz was lost to a season-ending knee injury.

In the coming week, it will be interesting to see how the Giants address the potential losses of cornerback Prince Amukamara (torn biceps) and offensive lineman Weston Richburg (ankle).

–CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, slowed in practice during the week due to back and hamstring issues, played in his 100th career regular-season game.

–QB Eli Manning’s 18-yard, fourth-quarter scramble was the longest run of his career. Manning has nine carries for 34 yards and one touchdown this season, an average of 3.8 yards per carry. He completed 27 of 52 passes for 359 yards with two touchdown tosses and no interceptions.

–RB Michael Cox finished with a team-high 27 rushing yards on two carries. The 27 yards represent a single-game career high for the second-year player, whose previous best was a 23-yard, 11-carry game last season.

–CB Prince Amukamara tore a biceps in Monday’s loss to the Colts. He likely will need season-ending surgery, according to coach Tom Coughlin.