The Colts fake punt disaster became one of the most memorable failed trick plays in NFL history because it combined rivalry pressure, unusual design, national television, and immediate confusion. On October 18, 2015, the Indianapolis Colts tried an unconventional fourth-down look against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium. Instead of drawing a penalty or catching New England disorganized, the play ended with Colt Anderson taking a snap from Griff Whalen and being tackled almost immediately. The Patriots took over on downs and later won 34–27. The moment lasted only a few seconds, but it became a lasting example of how a creative special-teams idea can become famous for the wrong reason when communication, execution, and game situation fall apart together.
The Colts and Patriots Entered the Game With Recent Playoff History
The Colts fake punt disaster did not happen in an ordinary regular-season setting. Indianapolis and New England were meeting on Sunday Night Football in Week 6 of the 2015 season, less than a year after the Patriots had beaten the Colts in the AFC Championship Game. That playoff meeting led directly into Deflategate, which made the next Colts-Patriots matchup feel bigger than a standard October game.
Indianapolis entered the night with Andrew Luck back at quarterback and a roster still built around the idea of competing in the AFC. New England arrived unbeaten, with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick leading the defending Super Bowl champions. The Colts were not simply trying to steal a possession against a random opponent. They were trying to change the rhythm of a game against the team that had ended their previous season.
For most of the first half, Indianapolis held up well. The Colts led 21–20 at halftime, and the game remained competitive into the third quarter. But after New England took a 27–21 lead, Indianapolis faced fourth-and-3 from its own 37-yard line late in the quarter. That was the moment the Colts reached for a special-teams call that would become far more famous than intended.
The Colts Fake Punt Disaster Came From a Formation That New England Did Not Chase
The play began with the Colts aligned for a punt. Then most of the Indianapolis punt unit shifted toward the right side of the field, away from the ball. The unusual movement left Griff Whalen near the ball as the snapper and Colt Anderson behind him as the apparent ball carrier. The Patriots did not fully follow the Colts’ shift. Instead, New England kept defenders near the ball, with Brandon Bolden and Jon Bostic aligned close enough to attack the snap immediately.
The design was not supposed to become a conventional fake punt. Pat McAfee later explained that the goal was to create confusion and potentially draw New England into a penalty, such as too many men on the field or offside. If the Patriots did not take the bait, the Colts were supposed to avoid running an actual play and accept a delay of game instead.
That did not happen. Whalen snapped the ball to Anderson, and the Patriots were ready. Anderson had no meaningful blocking help, and Bolden reached him almost instantly. Officials also threw a flag for an illegal formation on Indianapolis, which New England declined because the failed play already gave the Patriots the ball in excellent field position.
The result was not just a turnover on downs. It was a moment that looked confusing in real time, sounded confusing on the broadcast, and quickly became a national football talking point. The problem was not that the Colts tried to be aggressive. The problem was that the formation, the timing, and the communication all pointed in different directions at once.
The Play Became a Lasting Warning About Trick-Play Execution
The Colts fake punt disaster has lasted because NFL trick plays usually need two things to succeed: deception and clarity. The defense has to be uncertain, but the offense has to know exactly what it is doing. On this play, New England was not uncertain for long, while Indianapolis looked caught between drawing a penalty, avoiding a snap, and trying to salvage a broken look.
That is why the play became more than a failed fourth down. It became shorthand for special-teams overcomplication. Coaches still use unusual formations, swinging-gate looks, fake punts, and hard counts to stress opponents, but this play showed the risk of designing something that only works if every player understands the escape plan.
The game context also helped preserve the moment. It happened against the Patriots, during their dynasty years, in prime time, with the Colts trying to answer a rival that had already created plenty of frustration for them. When New England scored on the ensuing drive and later finished off a 34–27 win, the failed fake punt became part of the night’s larger story.
The Colts fake punt disaster remains one of the NFL’s clearest examples of how thin the line can be between creativity and confusion. Trick plays are remembered when they reveal preparation under pressure. This one lasted because it revealed how quickly a clever idea can collapse when the defense stays calm and the offense loses the thread.
