Biggest Takeaways from Indianapolis Colts' Week 12 Win

Make it three consecutive wins for the Indianapolis Colts. 

They haven't been pretty, but the team has countered its three straight losses with three wins, and it's inching closer and closer to a playoff spot. 

The team's 25-12 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is its best win of the year and offers plenty of optimism moving forward. Even if the Colts end up losing the division, there will be a real opportunity for a wild-card spot. 

It's been an odd season for Indianapolis, but somehow, it remains on pace to win the division for the third consecutive season. It's taken a 4-0 record with Matt Hasselbeck as the starter, but the Colts have done it. 

Can they continue this going forward, particularly with a dangerous Pittsburgh team up ahead?

Matt Hasselbeck Steps Back Up

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Every time Matt Hasselbeck gets a win, the media goes into a frenzy over the 40-year-old backup quarterback. Sometimes, it's not deserved, like last week's sloppy 24-21 win over Atlanta. 

This week, however, he earned every ounce of that praise. 

After a listless first half, Hasselbeck and the Colts coaches recognized the advantageous matchups available and began using them. 

With T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief dominating the Tampa Bay cornerbacks, Hasselbeck made quick reads and accurate throws. With the Tampa Bay defense accelerating downhill toward the running game, the Colts employed play action to give Hasselbeck easier throwing lanes to open receivers. 

But even when his receivers and scheme didn't provide him with easy throws, Hasselbeck often gave his receivers, namely Moncrief, a chance to make a play with great ball placement. Outside of poor red-zone execution (the Colts kicked four field goals, including two inside the Tampa Bay 2-yard line), Hasselbeck orchestrated the Colts offense to a more than successful day. 

Is this kind of play sustainable? 

It's doubtful. Hasselbeck threw for more than 300 yards and had multiple touchdown passes and zero interceptions. He's only done that one other time since 2007. It's not really who he is, especially at this stage of his career. The Tampa Bay defense was vulnerable, and the Colts capitalized. 

Not every defense will be as ready to topple, but with the Colts defense playing well and playmakers ready to step up, victories are within reach.

T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief Are the Future and the Present

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While the Colts haven't had many players ready to make plays offensively this season, that changed Sunday. 

T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief, the young receivers meant to lead the Colts into a period of offensive dominance, finally had a game to remember. 

Hilton provided the splash plays, with catches of 31, 29 and 19 yards as a part of his 95-yard, two-touchdown day. Moncrief was the consistent chain-mover, with his career-high eight catches all going for first downs. 

The Colts put high-value resources into their receiving corps over the last few years, hoping that at least a few of them would pan out into long-term starters. Hilton was certainly one, but after last season, the team didn't know who would partner with him. 

Andre Johnson hasn't been the answer, not even a short-term one. Phillip Dorsett hasn't had a chance to prove whether he'll be a long-term asset yet. 

But if Hilton and Moncrief continue this level of play, it won't matter. They aren't a duo like Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne, but they looked like it Sunday. 

The Run Game Can't Survive, but It Can Help

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The Colts ran the ball for 27 yards on 26 carries Sunday—as inefficient and ineffective of a run game as you'll ever see.

But a little context is important here. 

For one, there is a reason why the run game was so bad. The Colts were running with a reshuffled offensive line, as Anthony Castonzo missed the game with a knee sprain. Missing your top lineman is always rough, but especially when you're going up against a defense that is fourth in the league in run defense, per Football Outsiders' DVOA. To top it all off, the Colts had Hasselbeck at quarterback, who doesn't excel throwing the ball downfield, which allows defenses to shoot downfield. 

But there's also a reason the Colts continued to run the ball. They only actually ran the ball 23 times (three kneeldowns), compared to 45 dropbacks for Hasselbeck. Running the ball one-third of the time is not egregious, especially when a team is up for most of the fourth quarter.

Those running plays also set up a crucial part of the Colts offense with Hasselbeck at quarterback: the play action. 

Hasselbeck led the league with 16 play-action dropbacks in Week 12 and threw the ball for 11.7 yards per attempt on such plays, compared to 5.5 yards per play on non-play-action plays, per Pro Football Focus. With Hasselbeck at quarterback, running the ball and using play action is the best course of action, and it worked Sunday.  

Adam Vinatieri Is Human

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Sunday's game was a reminder that Adam Vinatieri, the Colts' 40-year-old kicker, is human. 

Vinatieri hadn't missed a field goal since Week 2, as he started the season with two missed kicks. Of course, he didn't miss one Sunday either, but he did miss an extra point, his second missed extra point this season. 

This is all facetious, obviously. Even with the missed extra point, Vinatieri was brilliant again, hitting all four of his field-goal attempts. It was his fifth game this season where he's hit multiple field goals without missing one. 

With four field goals, Vinatieri moved within one field goal of longtime Detroit kicker Jason Hanson in third place on the career leaders list, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. Vinatieri moved into sole position of fourth place earlier this season and will likely get into the top three in the next two weeks. 

The Colts feel like every kick Vinatieri attempts is going in, and they've been proved correct for most of this season. 

The Coaching Staff Does It Again

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Faced with adversity, the Colts coaching staff has done a great job of getting the team through tough spots. 

Whether it's been comeback wins, responding to losing streaks with winning streaks or getting the team prepared without its starting quarterback, the coaching staff has faced adversity with strength and resolve. Sure, many of the coaches' mistakes have led to part of the team's struggles this season, but they've also done their part in the team's rebound. 

Sunday was another example of that. 

Down 12-6 at halftime after the Buccaneers offense put together long drives to end the first half and poor offensive execution in critical spots by Indianapolis, the Colts outscored Tampa Bay 19-0 in the second half. While the players get credit, the coaches should as well. 

This team often struggles with halftime adjustments, but both the offense and defense made necessary shifts in the second half. For the offense, it was running through T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief, who were visibly winning their matchups all game. For the defense, it was dialing up blitzes to get pressure on Jameis Winston and stall the previously efficient passing game. 

Sure, Tampa Bay helped the Colts out with poor execution of its own (a couple of Mike Evans drops and several defensive breakdowns, for example), but the Colts coaching staff led the team to yet another win with Andrew Luck on the sideline. Before this season, a 4-0 record without Luck would have seemed impossible. Now, it's reality.