INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson can be forgiven because this is new territory for him.
Jackson was on his way into the shower when he realized that he hadn’t taken off his AFC South Champs hat. He didn’t go back to his locker and take the hat off. He simply placed it on the sink in the shower area and then he walked back to his locker after his shower still wearing the hat.
“It feels good, it really does,” Jackson said after the Colts' 17-10 win over the Houston Texans that secured the AFC South title.
Reggie Wayne added, "He was going into the shower with the hat on. He forgot he had it on. It just goes to show you how great that feeling is."
It feels good because Jackson and return specialist Josh Cribbs are experiencing a first. The two have been in the NFL for a combined 19 seasons, but they’re only now heading to the playoffs for the first time.
“I definitely am not taking it for granted,” Cribbs said. “This is huge to me, huge for D’Qwell. This is my 10th season in the NFL. It means something special to me. It’s not describable.”
Jackson and Cribbs signed with the Colts to be able to experience the playoffs for the first time. They wanted to play for a franchise that expects to make the playoffs, not hopes for it. The two had spent the majority of their careers playing in Cleveland where the word "playoffs" was like a foreign word.
“I’ve always wanted to be in this position and it took nine years,” Jackson said. “If I could do it all over again, I’d do it exactly the way it started. In this league you have to work with everything you get. Being in a situation like this, Andrew Luck, this is his third one. Different guys have different roles here. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
