The latest Colts debacle has some recalling the infamous fake punt against the Patriots
"Now only the second-dumbest coaching decision by a Colts coach."
The NFL nearly had its third tie of the 2018 season on Sunday, but the Colts – in a headline-stealing blunder – handed the Texans all of the opportunity that was needed to emerge with an overtime win.
The moment arrived on fourth down with 27 seconds remaining in overtime. The Colts, who held the ball at the Indianapolis 43-yard line, seemed destined to punt after failing to draw the Texans offside before calling a timeout.
Yet inexplicably, Colts coach Frank Reich decided to go for it.
“We’re not playing to tie,” Reich said afterward. “We’re going for it 10 times out of 10. That’s just the way it’s got to roll.”
The result of the play was a fatal incompletion, leading to an eventual game-winning field goal for the Texans.
It was a stunning way to lose, as was reflected by reactions not merely from Colts fans, but local media.
THEY WENT FOR IT?!?!!?!?
— Gregg Doyel (@GreggDoyelStar) September 30, 2018
Very quickly, the Colts’ doomed decision to go for it began drawing comparisons to another moment of Indianapolis insanity.
Remember when Chuck Pagano did this??
What Frank Reich did was worse.#texans #colts pic.twitter.com/j1yWVjgPge— Robert Flores (@RoFlo) September 30, 2018
The other infamous play Colts fans instantly recalled took place in 2015 against the Patriots. On another fourth down, with a different head coach calling the plays (Chuck Pagano), Indianapolis lined up in a trick formation (which also turned out to be illegal).
The result was another disaster.
The Colts tried a unique formation on 4th down.
It didn’t work. #NEvsIND http://t.co/Eh0HXpFV00— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2015
It didn’t take long for fans to begin comparing the forlorn failures, which occurred three years – and one coaching change – apart.
The immortal Chuck Pagano fake punt? Now only the second-dumbest coaching decision by a Colts coach.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) September 30, 2018
NFL columnist Charles Robinson was unsparing in his appraisal:
It was the worst play call of this young season. And maybe the worst the NFL has seen since Reich’s Colts predecessor – Chuck Pagano – called arguably the single-worst trick play in league history in 2015. You don’t have to remind Indianapolis fans about that one, either. That fake punt by Pagano has been nothing less than a comically sour low point in team history, aging like a carton of milk sitting on the counter for the past three years.
And not only were the Patriots directly involved in the 2015 fake punt (a game which the Patriots won, 34-27), but New England is also next on the schedule. On Thursday night, the Colts travel to Gillette Stadium.
Note: For anyone still wondering about the 2015 fake punt, Pat McAfee – then the Colts punter – explained in great detail why it went wrong during a radio interview.
https://youtu.be/qDH87oNaq6A?t=4m20s
