Vinatieri, Hasselbeck prove there is life after 40 in NFL

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

It was 19 years ago last month the kid from South Dakota State first trotted onto an NFL field. Before that, Adam Vinatieri had finished his college career with just one more make (27) than miss (26). He’d been forced to go all the way to Amsterdam to salvage any shot he had at professional football, and on his first day with the New England Patriots, his coach told him the only reason he was there was to light a fire under the established starter’s behind.

His debut came Sept. 1, 1996. Bill Clinton was in his first term as President. Vinatieri made a 25-yard field goal and punted four times that day. Nothing could have hinted that he would still be here, two decades later.

It was 14 years ago last month the kid from Boston College – the one who was picked three spots from the bottom of the sixth round in the 1998 draft – earned his first start as an NFL quarterback. Facing a Chuck Pagano-coached Cleveland Browns secondary, Matt Hasselbeck threw two interceptions and finished with a passer rating of 48.4.

It was two days before 9/11. Nothing hinted Hasselbeck would last a season – let alone 16.

In what might as well have been Bring-Your-AARP-Card-to-Work-Day, the Indianapolis Colts’ ageless duo, each the oldest player in the league at his respective position, delivered a memorable Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium, pulling the home team to a must-have 16-13 overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Doyel: No style, no problem. Colts simply win

In the process, they proved there is life in the NFL after 40. Well, at least an afternoon.

Hasselbeck started for the first time in nearly three years, went 30-of-47 for 282 yards and a touchdown. It wasn’t Andrew Luck. But it was serviceable. In overtime he marched the Colts’ bumbling offense 53 yards in five plays, all the way down to the Jaguars’ 9-yard line.

Then Vinatieri took over. His 27-yarder sealed the win and stamped the 25th game-winning kick of his gilded career.

“Money,” coach Chuck Pagano called him. “He’s clutch. A first-ballot Hall of Famer."

Vinatieri’s first game-winner came 19 years ago last month, just three weeks into his NFL career. The opponent? The Jacksonville Jaguars. Back then they were in their second year of existence.

Since then, Vinatieri has scripted his career in those moments, the kind that got the best of Jags’ rookie Jason Myers on Sunday. Myers botched two potential game-winners, one from 53 yards with 5 seconds left in the fourth quarter and a second from 48 yards in overtime. Pulled one left. Hooked one right. The sort of kicks that cost jobs.

Or, in Vinatieri’s case, build legends.

“The reason Adam Vinatieri is a legend, and the reason he’s 42 years old and still kicking, is that when those situations arrive, he delivers,” said his holder, Colts punter Pat McAfee. “That’s just what he does. When we get in that situation, you just know he’s not going to miss. And we know we’re going to get to celebrate. That’s why he’s going to be in Canton someday.”

Not bad for a guy who'd stumbled out of the gate this season, missing his first two field goal attempts. One was from 29 yards inside the kicker-friendly confines of Lucas Oil Stadium.

But as he proved Sunday, and as he's been proving ever since he first stepped foot in the league, it's best not to doubt Adam Vinatieri.

Meanwhile, Hasselbeck and his battered and bruised 40-year-old frame slumped on the sidelines. He couldn’t even watch the game-winning kick.

“I was exhausted,” he conceded.

After all, Hasselbeck’s 153rd career start was an eventful one. He didn’t even know it was happening until he and Luck cut their normal warm-up routine short. A few minutes later, inside the locker room, Luck made it clear: You’re up. Don’t blow it.

“He was wearing workouts clothes and not pants with pads in them,” Hasselbeck said, laughing. That’s when he knew.

He commenced his day with a rookie mistake – running out of the tunnel too excited. (“Way too geeked up,” he’d admit later.) He started with five incompletions in the first quarter. (“Couldn't hit Frank Gore on the easiest Pop Warner pass you could ever have,” he said.) Then he told himself to calm down. (“I already know the lesson: Chill out, you’re a quarterback.”)

So he did. Hasselbeck did his job, adequately, admiringly, and delivered the win, as muddled and chaotic as this one was. His only regret? His family wasn’t in town for the game. His wife had packed up his girls and headed to Connecticut for their lacrosse game. It was further indication into how rare this afternoon really was.

After all, how many NFL quarterbacks have teenage daughters?

Insider: Colts need every break they get in win

So Hasselbeck reveled in the win with teammates half his age instead. And a proud coach, Pagano, who wouldn’t let his aging quarterback get through his postgame news conference without interrupting.

“Great win,” Pagano said, pounding on the door for added emphasis. “Love you, man. So glad you’re a Colt.”

Hasselbeck smiled, as if to say, “just doing my part.”

But the day really belonged to Vinatieri, Mr. Clutch, Iceman, Mr. Automatic, whatever name you want to call him. He connected on three kicks of 54, 32 and 27 yards. By afternoon’s end, he’d moved past John Carney for fourth place in NFL history in field goals made and past Mike Vanderjagt for the most points (1,004) and field goals made (218) in Indianapolis Colts’ history.

The kid from South Dakota is still winning games with that incomparable 42-year-old right leg of his.

“That means I’ve been on this team for a long time,” Vinatieri said afterward.

It does. It also means he’s done it well enough to still have a job two decades after he earned his first shot.

Call Star reporter Zak Keefer at (317) 444-6134 and follow him on Twitter: @zkeefer.

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