Insider: T.Y. Hilton, Jacoby Brissett prevent 0-3 start for Colts ... barely

INDIANAPOLIS – T.Y. Hilton does not waste words. When the TV cameras turn on and the microphones are hot, he is infamous for giving quick, compact answers to reporters’ queries.

In keeping with this practice, the Indianapolis Colts’ Pro Bowl receiver answered curtly when asked this past week about the prospect of losing to the Cleveland Browns and falling to 0-3 to start 2017.

“Can’t happen, won’t happen,” he said succinctly.

Except it could. And it almost did.

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But with a few heroics from Hilton, a fast start by the defense, and some dazzling playmaking from a quarterback whose been on the roster three weeks, the Colts fended off the unthinkable.

You might say the Colts survived the Cleveland Browns, perhaps the NFL’s worst team, with their 31-28 win at Lucas Oil Stadium. But as the Colts look to pull themselves together and survive the absence of franchise quarterback Andrew Luck — he’s getting closer; more on that later — this is the kind of win the Colts will have to settle for.

It was not exactly a clinic in putting away an overmatched opponent. The Colts bent over backward to find ways to make this game unnecessarily competitive. Whether it was via their endless stream of 11 penalties or their hesitance to be aggressive after building a 17-point fourth-quarter lead, the Colts made it quite the adventure.

“We’ve got to learn how to finish,” coach Chuck Pagano said. “We let one slip away (last week) and we almost did the same thing.”

Pagano was talking about last Sunday’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals, a game in which the Colts turned a 10-point fourth-quarter lead into a 16-13 overtime loss. Indianapolis wasted a golden opportunity that day against an injury-plagued opponent in a game that dropped them to 0-2. But the Browns proved incapable of taking advantage of the many chances the Colts gave them.

The red zone interception or the inability to capitalize on Jack Doyle’s fumble — yes, that really happened — the Browns out-Colted the Colts.

But let us not shortchange performances like the one Hilton turned in. The star wideout caught seven passes for 153 yards, including a highlight-worthy 61-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Hilton and quarterback Jacoby Brissett, making his second start for the Colts, showed the makings of some real synergy. They seem to have developed some real timing on the deep out pass that Hilton and Luck so famously have turned into many a big play.

It was the exact route the pair hooked up on for Hilton’s long touchdown, with Hilton creating huge separation with his precise route running. Hilton took it from there with a decisive cut and then turned on his ample speed to outrun the defense.

“For us to have success, I have to make plays,” Hilton said. “If I don’t, then we struggle. So, I came out there with a mindset that I’m going to put the team on my back and go out there and play.”

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When a team is missing a quarterback of Luck’s caliber, someone has to replace his playmaking. Hilton raised his hand to be first in line to do so on Sunday.

But he had company. Brissett was particularly impressive for a 23-year old making his second start with the team. With another week of immersion in the offense, he seemed free from the inhibitions that prevented him from stretching the field in his first start. This week, Brissett was aggressive, taking shots to Hilton, Donte Moncrief and other targets. Brissett completed six passes of 20 yards or longer, one week after his longest completion against Arizona went for 20 yards.

And Brissett’s touchdown runs of 5 and 7 yards were both displays of the athleticism he possesses, athleticism that gives offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski options with his quarterback. The second score featured a 360-degree pirouette that even Brissett struggled to explain.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I don’t even know why I spun.”

The Colts took a 28-7 lead on Frank Gore’s touchdown run with 2:41 left in the second quarter. And that’s when their posture seemed to change.

The Colts went from taking an audacious deep shot backed up on their own goal line in the second quarter — Brissett hit Moncrief for 34 yards — to tiptoeing through the second half. Brissett threw for 206 yards on 12 attempts in the first half only to throw for 53 yards, also on 12 attempts, in the second half.

The watered-down playcalling, combined with seven second-half penalties was almost enough to doom the Colts. But they made just enough plays to survive a Browns team that has won once in its past 22 games.

That’s how it’s going to be until Luck comes back. Which, as it turns out, could be soon. Word came Sunday that a possible return to the practice field could come as early as this week. That would put Luck a couple weeks away from returning to game action, a development that could change the course of the Colts’ season.

“Anytime you get your franchise quarterback back, even practicing, it’s an energy boost to the team,” safety Darius Butler said. “He’s just lurking in the shadows.”

But for now, the Colts will take the wins however they come. If they dominate a terrible football team, they will take it. But even if they merely outlast the Browns, they’re in no position to quibble about style points.

Can’t happen, won’t happen.

Hilton’s words rang true. The Colts got a win. Maybe how they got there doesn’t matter.

Follow IndyStar Insider Stephen Holder on Twitter: @HolderStephen.