There is a legitimate case to be made that Gardner Minshew is the best backup quarterback in the NFL, but the Indianapolis Colts could not get anything going during the first half of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Part of the struggles was entirely the fault of CBS’ broadcast booth.
Ian Eagle hit Minshew with a nasty announcer’s jinx prior to a costly turnover during the second quarter.
Although Anthony Richardson was named the starter for Indianapolis prior to the season, various injuries have kept him off of the field. Minshew has played in every single game thus far.
He completed 68.7% of his 83 pass attempts through the first four weeks of the season without throwing an interception. He also made it through the first 25 minute and 10 seconds of Week 5 without throwing an interception.
Gardner Minshew threw a pick.
And then Eagle reminded the audience that Minshew had not thrown an interception prior to a 2nd-and-10 from the Jacksonville 30-yard-line. It was the ultimate announcer’s jinx.
Minshew’s been good. He’s played almost 200 snaps this year. He’s yet to throw a pick.
— Ian Eagle
Less than five seconds later, literally, Minshew dropped back and threw an interception right over the middle to Jaguars linebacker Andre Cisco. His first interception of the year came immediately after Eagle said that he had not thrown an interception. It doesn’t get much worse than that!
Although Sunday’s box score will show that Minshew threw a pick during the first half, it should not be credited to him. Eagle should be included in the box score and should be held responsible for his actions.
The announcer’s jinx is very real. Cisco was fortunate enough to be on the other end of Eagle’s curse. Minshew did not get so lucky and it resulted in points for Jacksonville before the half. What a bummer!
Minshew Mania will never die, and we can’t let Ian Eagle win. It’s all his fault!