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The Indianapolis Colts on Sunday were playing for the first time without Andrew Luck since he entered the NFL, starting Matt Hasselbeck instead. It was an ugly game that the Colts pulled out in overtime with a 16-13 victory, and Hasselbeck impressed in his performance.
Hasselbeck completed 30 of 47 yards (63.8%) for 282 yards (6 yards per carry) and a touchdown without turning the football over, and while it wasn't a dominant offensive performance by any means, Hasselbeck did everything you could expect from a 40-year old backup quarterback thrust into his starting role. He helped the Colts get the win, and his coaches and teammates were all incredibly happy for him.
"Matt did a great job obviously," head coach Chuck Pagano said. "I'm very, very proud of Matt and what he did. I think it was his 153rd start in the National Football League. The guy is a true pro and a winner and I'm really glad we got him on our football team."
"He won the game," tight end Coby Fleener said. "I would say [he played] exceptional."
"I love it," wide receiver Donte Moncrief added. "Ever since I came in, I was like, this guy can really spin the ball. I knew Matt would do good. He's been in the game for a long time. He's done the things he's done to be here for a long time so I had trust in him from the jump. He knew what it took to finish the game."
"Matt did a great job," guard Joe Reitz said. "He was flawless in the transition. That's his preparation, that's him coming to work every day as a pro so when a situation comes up, he's ready for it and seizes the moment."
"It was awesome to see Matt go out there," kicker Adam Vinatieri said. "He prepared like a guy that expected to get on the field and he did everything he needed to do to lead the team. It was fun to watch him, I know it has been a while since he got a start because we have a great young quarterback here. I think myself and everybody in this locker room had all the confidence in the world that he could go out there and lead this team and he did. He did a nice job, he threw the ball around, he controlled the game well and when it was time he made the plays he needed to."
"It was good," outside linebacker Robert Mathis said. "A guy that's unselfish like that to step in, ultimate professional and led us to a victory."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'm so happy for <a href="https://twitter.com/Hasselbeck">@Hasselbeck</a>.. Dude is legitimately one of the best humans I've ever met..Congrats on the start & the win <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinningInYour40s?src=hash">#WinningInYour40s</a></p>— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) <a href="https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/650832775608729601">October 5, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I feel lucky I get to play with two ageless footballers <a href="https://twitter.com/Hasselbeck">@Hasselbeck</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/adamvinatieri">@adamvinatieri</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/colts?src=hash">#colts</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/likefinewine?src=hash">#likefinewine</a></p>— Jack Mewhort (@jackmewhort) <a href="https://twitter.com/jackmewhort/status/650804523687145472">October 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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And, when you see the locker room reaction, you'll realize how happy the whole team was for the 40-year old quarterback:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This sums up the feeling in the locker room after today's win! <a href="https://t.co/1aTVJOvnnv">https://t.co/1aTVJOvnnv</a></p>— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) <a href="https://twitter.com/Colts/status/650774136139186177">October 4, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Indianapolis is one of those rare places (thanks to Andrew Luck) where you never want to see the backup quarterback start a game, but it's great to see that when the backup does have to start he plays well. Matt Hasselbeck played well on Sunday and helped the Colts to a division win, and his teammates and coaches were thrilled to see one of their leaders get some credit.