ATLANTA -- Make it three and counting for Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.
The 40-year-old quarterback moved to 3-0 as a starter in place of the injured Andrew Luck. Hasselbeck, with the huge help of a D'Qwell Jackson interception for a touchdown, led the Colts back from a 21-7 deficit to beat the Atlanta Falcons 24-21 at the Georgia Dome on Sunday.
After punter Pat McAfee pinned Atlanta down at its own 1-yard line, Jackson, who went into Sunday leading the NFL in tackles, fooled Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan by stunting up and then dropping back into coverage. Ryan threw the ball directly to Jackson, who easily went in for a touchdown to tie the score at 21.
Hasselbeck shook off two earlier interceptions to lead the Colts on a nine-play, 56-yard drive that milked more than 4 minutes of the clock and was capped by a 44-yard game-winning field goal from 42-year-old kicker Adam Vinatieri. It wasn't pretty for Hasselbeck, but he'll take a victory any way he can get it.
What it means: Indianapolis badly needed the victory to stay atop the AFC South. The Colts are trying to win their third straight AFC South title.
What were they thinking: The Colts’ fake-punt blunder against New England now has some company. The Colts had the ball third-and-1 in the third quarter when Hasselbeck, who was under pressure, threw the ball backward to right tackle Joe Reitz. Reitz took off and looked like he would be able to rumble the necessary yards to get the first down. Wrong! Reitz – all 300-plus pounds of him – went down to the ground a yard short of the first-down marker.
One reason to get excited: Undrafted rookie Quan Bray further put his stamp on the Colts’ return job when he finished with two kick returns for 70 yards and had a 42-yard punt return that was erased by a holding penalty by linebacker Daniel Adongo.
One reason to panic: The Colts, as they’ve done way too often this season, hurt themselves at the start of the game with turnovers. It started with Hasselbeck throwing his first interception in 77 attempts this season when tight end Coby Fleener went underneath and the quarterback threw down the field to Falcons linebacker Paul Worrilow. The Colts followed it up with yet another turnover on their next drive. Running back Frank Gore lost his third fumble of the season on a second-and-6 run.
Too many penalties: The Colts looked like they had improved in the penalty department, as they had committed only six of them in the two games leading up to Sunday. So much for that thought. Indianapolis committed six penalties in the first 35 minutes of the game and finished with seven penalties for 42 yards in the game. One of the penalties – defensive holding by cornerback Vontae Davis – put the Falcons in the position to score their third touchdown of the game.
Ouch: Davis left the game in the fourth quarter with a right hamstring injury.
