Indianapolis Colts Midseason Awards: Offensive Player of the Year
By Drew Koch
In what could best be described as a down year offensively for the Indianapolis Colts, Jacoby Brissett has shined as Andrew Luck’s stand-in, and he is our Midseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Brissett was brought to Indianapolis on September 2nd in a trade that sent former first-round pick and underperforming wide receiver Phillip Dorsett to the New England Patriots.
With barely a week’s worth of practice with his new team, Brissett was thrown into action late in the opening game against the Los Angeles Rams. Brissett led the Colts on their only touchdown drive of the game, capped off by a 3-yard TD run by rookie running back Marlon Mack.
Brissett would start over the opening day starter Scott Tolzien, in Week 2 against the Arizona Cardinals. He finished that game 20-37 for 216 yards, however, his errant pass in overtime resulted in an interception that allowed the Cardinals to kick the game-winning field goal.
Brissett’s first win of the season came the following week when he threw for 259 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for two scores as the Colts defeated the Cleveland Browns 31-28.
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On the year, Brissett has hit over 60% of his passes for 1,642 yards with 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. The second-year quarterback also has 3 rushing touchdowns this season.
The Colts’ offensive line has done Brissett no favors as he’s already been sacked 29 times on the year. His receivers have done little to help him as well. T.Y. Hilton has been virtually nonexistent since his overtime catch against San Francisco in Week 5. Donte Moncrief has certainly disappointed this season. And, until last week against Cincinnati, Jack Doyle had been unworthy of his recent contract extension.
With all the problems the Colts have had around him on offense, Brissett has managed to steer this team to two victories with little knowledge of the playbook. In his short time in Indy, he has shown himself to be a leader, and someone capable of at least not letting the ship sink when they’re without their captain Andrew Luck.
Next: Indianapolis Colts Midseason Awards: Most Disappointing Player
The unfortunate truth for Indianapolis is that, heading into the second half of the season, few others besides Brissett have shown the wherewithal or desire to step up and lead this Colts’ offense. Brissett has been the unquestioned Offensive Player of the Year at this point in the season.