Insider: Colts need every break they get in win

• Colts at Texans, 8:25 p.m. Thursday, CBS, NFL

If you’ve ever wondered how much of the Indianapolis Colts’ success is attributable to one Andrew Austen Luck, then Sunday offered a bit of a revelation.

Because with their Pro Bowl quarterback sidelined with a shoulder injury against the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team the Colts had beaten five consecutive times by an average margin of more than 23 points, a more vulnerable Colts team was uncovered.

The Colts were a team that, despite chance after chance and missed field goal after missed field goal, struggled to take advantage of the opportunities afforded it. They were a team whose weaknesses were more glaring and whose mistakes loomed larger.

Ultimately, the Colts outlasted the Jaguars to notch a 16-13 overtime win with 40-year-old quarterback Matt Hasselbeck under center, the Colts needing every bit of good fortune to eke out a much-needed victory. Adam Vinatieri's 27-yard field goal with 4:36 left in overtime was the difference. It was the Colts' NFL-record tying 15th consecutive division victory.

“No one said it was going to be easy, right?” coach Chuck Pagano said.

Doyel: No style, no problem. Colts simply win

The Colts are now 2-2 after avoiding the unthinkable – a 1-3 start and a loss to a division foe that hasn’t been remotely competitive against them in three years. But much like we’ve learned in recent weeks when Luck has underperformed, the Colts had a much smaller margin for error without their franchise quarterback.

They nearly didn’t survive early, drive-killing dropped passes. And they nearly couldn’t overcome the big runs they gave up to Jags running back T.J. Yeldon (105 yards). And they almost were done in by the two late field goals that Jacksonville kicker Jason Myers botched, either of which would have proven the winner.

That’s what the Colts became without Luck in the lineup: A team literally praying for Jacksonville to miss a field goal.

Asked what he was thinking after he called a timeout that gave Myers a second chance at a 53-yard attempt with 6 seconds remaining in regulation – Myers' first attempt sailed wide – Pagano found his religion.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Pagano answered. “’Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.’ A ton of ‘Our Fathers,’ a lot of ‘Hail Marys.’ ”

Finally, Pagano added this last internal thought.

“‘You dumb---.’ That’s what was going through my head,” he said. “My family as well probably. You think you (reporters) are tough. Wait until the car ride home.”

Without Luck, the Colts needed to tap into every resource available, both the natural and supernatural.

“I’ve never in my life seen one guy beat 11 guys out on a field,” linebacker Robert Mathis said. “So, every play takes all 11. Every guy that’s on the field is needed.

“Everyone has to step it up a notch,” safety Dwight Lowery said. “Obviously, we rely on Luck to win football games. He’s obviously won a great deal of games since he’s been in the NFL. And when you lose a player of that caliber – any starting quarterback, really – that’s a huge deal. So everyone has to step it up.”

But that was not necessarily the case, partly because so much of what everyone else does relies on the abilities of Luck. Frank Gore’s running lanes depend on defenses respecting Luck’s right arm. With Hasselbeck in the lineup and not as adept at throwing deep, the Jaguars stacked the tackle box and made life tough on Gore. He helped them with his second lost fumble in three games, with backup running back Josh Robinson joining in the fun with one of his own.

Hasselbeck played as well as anyone would have expected. He was efficient, completing 30-of-47 passes for 282 yards and a touchdown. His decision-making was solid and his command of the offense commendable.

But he was no Andrew Luck. He lacks the arm strength of the young prodigy. And Hasselbeck doesn’t have the playmaking ability of Luck, though he improvised with a late naked bootleg that picked up some key yards on the game-winning drive.

Three decades-plus of NFL experience lift Colts to win

In the early moments, Hasselbeck looked shaky.

“I got way too excited coming out of the tunnel,” Hasselbeck said. “I was all geeked up and I couldn’t hit (Gore) to save my life on two of the easiest Pop Warner passes you could ever have.”

Hasselbeck did enough to get the job done. But make no mistake: This game was a struggle in so many ways, evidenced further by the fact that the Colts needed four Jaguars defensive penalties to put together their lone touchdown drive of the game.

But now that the Colts know who they are without Luck, they also can sleep well knowing that they can win without Luck.

However, something else was made unmistakably clear: Life without Luck is no way to live.

Follow Star reporter Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.

Colts at Texans, 8:25 p.m. Thursday, CBS, NFL