NFL's oldest QB (Hasselbeck) faces off against youngest (Winston)4h agoMike Wells, ESPN Staff Writer
Matt Hasselbeck has appeared in 204 games, while Jameis Wintson has played in 10. Tom Szczerbowski/Getty ImagesINDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was attending Boston College the year Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was born.The year was 1994.The NFL’s oldest quarterback and youngest quarterback will meet on the field at Lucas Oil Stadium when the Colts host the Buccaneers on Sunday.“One thing about playing against old people is I could say that (Hasselbeck) was balding, but we’ve got so many bald-headed 20-year-olds on this roster I can’t even make (a) funny joke about it,” Winston, 21, said last week. “He looks better at age 40 than some of the young guys on our team.”Here are four storylines to pay attention to:The offensive line. There’s not one player starting on Indianapolis' offensive line that started at their position in Week 1. In fact, the line has only one player who was starting in Week 1. Jack Mewhort will start at guard after starting at right tackle against Buffalo in Week 1. The rest of the starting offensive line will consist of Joe Reitz at left tackle, Mewhort at left guard, Jonotthan Harrison at center, Hugh Thornton at right guard and Denzelle Good, who has been inactive every game this season, at right tackle. That group will be responsible for protecting Hasselbeck and opening up holes for running backs Frank Gore and Ahmad Bradshaw against the NFL's 11th best defense.Stop the run. The Colts have to find a way to slow down Tampa running back Doug Martin. Martin is coming off a performance where he rushed for 235 yards on 27 carries against Philadelphia in Week 11. The Buccaneers are second in the league in rushing, averaging more than 142 yards a game. The Colts are 23rd in the league against the run. “They’re definitely going to ride that horse,” Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson said about Martin.Protect the football. The Colts fell back into their bad habit of turning the ball early in the game against Atlanta in Week 11. Indianapolis committed turnovers on its first two possessions, but found a way to still get the victory. As they found earlier in the season, they’re not always going to be as fortunate to get victories while turning the ball over.The division race: The Colts aren’t in position to lose any more games, not with Houston even with them record-wise and a trip to Pittsburgh awaiting them next weekend. The Texans host the New Orleans Saints in Houston and the third-place Jacksonville Jaguars, who are only a game out of first place, will host the San Diego Chargers. “Around this time, this is when the teams that are going to get hot and get over that next hump, you start to separate yourselves,” Jackson said. “For a while, the AFC South has kind of been the middle of the pack. This is the time these next few weeks we need to make a decision to separate ourselves. Right now, we control our own destiny in our division.”
