NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Indianapolis Colts finally have a promising backup quarterback in Jacoby Brissett.
They also miss Andrew Luck.
Brissett showed flashes of his long-term potential during a 36-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Monday night, but he also struggled at a couple of key moments.
The 23-year-old Brissett went 12 of 17 for 119 yards in the first half, including an 8-yard touchdown pass to Jack Doyle. He went 9 of 20 for 93 yards the rest of the way as the Colts squandered a 19-9 lead.
Brissett’s biggest issue was finishing drives.
The Colts got inside the Titans’ 25-yard line on each of their last two possessions and posted a total of three points. Those were the only points that Indianapolis’ offense produced in the second half.
The Colts entered with an 11-game win streak against the Titans, and Luck had been Indianapolis’ starting quarterback in nine of those games. The Titans’ previous victory over the Colts happened in 2011 when Indianapolis started Curtis Painter at quarterback.
The Colts acquired Brissett from New England for receiver Phillip Dorsett just before the start of the season while Luck was recovering from shoulder surgery. Brissett gave Indianapolis the insurance policy it was missing throughout the preseason when it became evident Luck wouldn’t be ready to open the year.
Scott Tolzien started the Colts’ opener and struggled in a 46-9 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Brissett, a third-round pick last year’s draft out of North Carolina State, took over the following weekend.
Brissett has kept the Colts (2-4) competitive in the AFC South, though their only two victories so far were against the winless Cleveland Browns and the San Francisco 49ers.
He threw for 314 yards last week to help the Colts beat the 49ers 26-23 in overtime. He directed scoring drives on each of the Colts’ three first-half possessions Monday.
But he wasn’t the same the rest of the night.
Brissett went just 1 of 7 for 11 yards in the third quarter. After the Titans pulled ahead 22-19 in the fourth, Brissett took over at the Tennessee 40 after Quan Bray’s 60-yard kickoff return.
The Colts got to the 23 when Brissett threw the ball away under pressure from Wesley Woodyard and was called for intentional grounding. Brissett then failed to connect with Doyle on third-and-20, forcing the Colts to settle for Adam Vinatieri’s tying 52-yard field goal.
Woodyard and Brissett would meet again with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter.
Trailing 29-22, the Colts got into the red zone and faced fourth-and-1 at the 13. Brissett rolled right and tried to run for the first down, but Woodyard forced him out of bounds shy of the marker.
