Colts QB Jacoby Brissett enters concussion protocol after loss to Steelers

ByMICHAEL WELLS
November 12, 2017, 5:55 PM

— -- INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett entered the concussion protocol at the end of the team's 20-17 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

Brissett was scheduled to meet with the media, but a team spokesman said the quarterback would not be talking because he entered the protocol after having concussion symptoms following the game.

Brissett had to go to the concussion tent on the Colts sideline after he took a shot in the back of the head by Steelers defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt on a third-down scramble play with less than two minutes left in the third quarter. Backup quarterback Scott Tolzien went on the field on the Colts' next series, only to have Brissett run on at the last second.

Chris Nowinski, the founding CEO of the Concussion Legacy Foundation and co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, tweeted a harsh criticism of the NFL's concussion policy in how it handled Brissett during Sunday's game.

Colts coach Chuck Pagano, who addressed the media prior to the Brissett announcement, said the doctors cleared him to return.

"He went through the proper procedures through the protocol and got back out there," Pagano said.

Brissett, who was sacked three times and finished the game, was 14-of-24 for 222 yards, two touchdowns and an interception for the Colts, who enter their bye with a 3-7 record.