With Andrew Luck injured once again, Matt Hasselbeck will have a chance to show the NFL what the oldest quarterback in the league can do.   

On October 4th, the Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, although they couldn’t have done it without the two oldest players in the NFL: kicker Adam Vinatieri (42 years old) and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck (40 years old). This was the first time in NFL history that a team started two different players of 40+ years of age, and the pair was the biggest factor in the Colts’ win over the Jaguars. Matt Hasselbeck completed 30 of 47 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown, all without turning the football over. Kicker Adam Vinatieri hit all three of his field goal attempts from 54, 32, and 27 yards out, along with the field goal he drilled as the game winner in overtime.

According to nypost.com, Hasselbeck had this to say about his recent successes: “I honestly feel like this isn’t even real right now.”

These outstanding performances by the vets of the NFL continued four days later when the Colts defeated the Houston Texans 27-20 on a Thursday night primetime game. Hasselbeck’s performance there was even more impressive given the fact that he had been in the hospital all week battling a bacterial infection.

Even Coach Chuck Pagano expressed his gratitude for Hasselbeck’s performance, saying, “He was literally on his deathbed Monday/Tuesday and mustered up enough energy to come in Wednesday and practice.”

Pagano went on to explain, “He was getting IVs and fighting a virus, which was the grittiest performance I’ve seen in a long, long time.”   

This just goes to show that age doesn’t always factor in how one’s performance should be. Usually, it’s looked at as bad to be older in the NFL because you’re playing against younger and more athletic people. But that’s not always the case, as can be seen by the Colts’ use of their experience and age to outsmart their opponents, which ultimately led to two back-to-back, crucial victories.