Insider: 4-0 is the new 40 for Hasselbeck Stephen Holder, The Indianapolis Star, published 30 November 2015 There is no arguing the notion that quality quarterbacking, above all else, is most central to winning in the NFL. The idea has been proven time and again, both by teams that possess good passers and by those who lack them... The Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers know this well. It’s why re-signing Matt Hasselbeck to be Andrew Luck’s backup was an off-season priority for the Colts. And it’s the reason Tampa Bay was dead set on drafting Winston with the first overall pick in April. But Hasselbeck defies logic in so many ways, and continued to do so in a 25-12 Colts win against the Buccaneers on Sunday. At this stage of his career, he’s supposed to be a game manager. He’s supposed to be a guy who, as he put it afterward, is “just trying not to screw it up.” Instead, the league’s oldest quarterback — a 40-year old, bald, father of three — on Sunday afternoon could be found skillfully working the pocket, throwing accurate downfield passes and moving to 4-0 as a starter. And he did this on a day when he was matched against a 21-year old prodigy, the league’s youngest player under center. In a game in which Winston had the hot hand early, threatening to steal the spotlight, Hasselbeck inexplicably carried his team’s offensive load. This was a Hasselbeck we’d not seen in 2015. He was more aggressive. Or was it more assertive? Either way, it was impressive the way Hasselbeck displayed that he can, in fact, put the offense on his shoulders and carry the load. The Buccaneers were determined to not allow the Colts running game to get going. They, like most logical people, wanted to see whether Hasselbeck could win a game in which he could not count on a balanced offensive attack — the Colts rushed for 27 yards. The answer could not have been more emphatic. Hasselbeck finished 26-of-42 for 315 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions in his most demonstrative performance in years. “They were hell bent on not allowing us to run the football,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “… And Matt came through with over 300 yards passing.” Hasselbeck's play helped the Colts move to 6-5 and keep pace with the Houston Texans, who defeated New Orleans, in the AFC South. For context on Hasselbeck's day, consider a couple of numbers. Hasselbeck finished Sunday’s game with 7.5 yards per pass attempt. That’s higher than his career average of 6.9. And it’s not far off the 7.7 posted by Luck during a 2014 season in which he led the NFL in passing yards. Sunday’s game wasn’t Hasselbeck’s heaviest game in terms of pass attempts — he attempted 47 throws against the Jacksonville Jaguars last month — but it was his most aggressive passing performance of the season, because he made so many audacious throws. They were, perhaps, the kind you might typically associate with an up-and-comer like Winston. Speaking of which, as Winston stood on his sideline absorbing the kind of tough loss that young quarterbacks inevitably must go through, a learning experience was taking place. “It was an amazing experience to see him,” Winston said of Hasselbeck. “A straight surgeon. He’s been doing it a long time, so that’s expected coming from him. He played a great game.” The difference in the two quarterbacks became more evident as the game wore on. While Winston started the game hot and struggled to react to the Colts’ mid-game adjustments, Hasselbeck in the second half exploited weaknesses in the Tampa Bay defense that he and his coaches discovered along the way. Hasselbeck and the Colts were able to manipulate the Bucs’ zone coverage with creative routes and by Hasselbeck using his eyes to distract the two deep safeties in the Cover 2. That was what led to consecutive throws to Donte Moncrief and T.Y. Hilton for 31 and 19 yards, respectively, on the second drive of the second half. Hilton’s went for a touchdown. “That was just something we saw on film,” Hasselbeck said. With an assist from veteran receiver Andre Johnson and Luck’s eagle eyes, Hasselbeck, Hilton and Moncrief put together an impressive second half and dominated the Buccaneers after struggling to finish drives in the first half (the Colts trailed 12-6 at halftime after two red zone failures). That’s the kind of luxury Hasselbeck affords the Colts. He can diagnose defenses and comprehend what he sees. But, as he displayed Sunday, he can then make deep and accurate throws, to boot. This is not to say that Winston can’t do the same. Because he did plenty of that Sunday. The Colts were quite impressed after the rookie finished 20-of-36 for 245 yards. “I’ll be perfectly honest: He made me a believer,” Colts linebacker Robert Mathis said. “With rookies, it’s show me, don’t tell me.” Linebacker Erik Walden added: “He has some swag. You just see he’s a ballplayer. He’s not just a quarterback. He’s a football player. His instincts, his demeanor, everything. He’s got everything it takes to be a franchise quarterback. The sky is the limit.” On Sunday, we were left wondering whether the same might not be true for Hasselbeck.