Colts and Texans game takes massive fantasy hit with backup QBs

The status of Matt Hasselbeck is equally as cloudy. “It immobilizes the arm”, Pagano stated.

NOTES: Outside linebacker Erik Walden (foot) and cornerback Greg Toler (knee) also are expected to return to practice Wednesday after missing Sunday’s game. After weighing the risks against the rewards, it might be best for the Colts not to play Luck for the rest of the season.

There is no question that the Colts will go through a bit of trouble when Andrew Luck returns to to the field. That said, he completed just two of eight passing attempts for eight yards and threw an interception. Being cleared for practice, and then for a game, are two separate hurdles that Luck must clear.

“I’m such a big believer in practice”, he said. Matt is a tough guy and great competitor. “We’ll know more (Monday)”.

It doesn’t get much lower than being smacked around by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He now has returned 11 punts for 230 yards, a 20.9 average. The offense executed on nearly every level, and they all pushed forward despite early struggles. Hurns avoided two Colts defenders and tight-roped down the sideline for an 80-yard scoring play for a 16-14 Jacksonville lead.

The Jaguars were 4-for-4 in their red zone trips against the Colts.

Hoyer already had suffered one concussion this season which forced him to miss a game. When these two meet on Sunday they will be on equal footing and quite possibly with backups.

The Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts all have a chance.

I’m not going to say this is a mea culpa, as I still don’t expect Branch on the roster next season, but credit where credit is due. But three fumbles provided a spark.

Seven different players scored for Jacksonville in this one. Indianapolis was ahead of Jacksonville 13-3 in the first half and then was outscored 48-3 over the remainder of the game.

But in Indy, there are bigger concerns than who plays and who doesn’t. He was credited with four tackles, two sacks for a minus-28 yards and he caused a fumble, picked it up and took it 49 yards to the end zone for the Jaguars’ only touchdown of the first half. The Jags would score touchdowns on all five of their second-half possessions. They both started the season on other teams’ rosters (Yates with the Falcons, Whitehurst with the Titans), as did the Texans’ No. 3 QB, Brandon Weeden, who was starting games for the Dallas Cowboys as recently as Week 5. They won’t have to scoreboard watch or pray for help from another team in another city; like coach Chuck Pagano and his players keep insisting, they control their own destiny.

While the Colts (6-7) are deadlocked with the Texans for first place in the AFC South Division and are coming off unprecedented 35-point losses in back-to-back games, Luck said he’s not yet 100 percent and his availability will be determined by medical scans without any influence by the magnitude of the next game. That time frame would have Luck returning for either Sunday’s showdown with the Houston Texans at Lucas Oil Stadium, or the December 27 trip to Miami.

There is a chance Luck plays this week against Houston, but if not it is Charlie Whitehurst time and if you thought you’d seen bad football before you are in for a real treat. Even if Luck does play, he’ll be knocking off six weeks of rust against a defense that had been playing incredibly well and likely with a still ailing offensive line. He is also hopeful to practice on Wednesday.