Social Media Had A Field Day With The Colts' Infamously Bad Fake Punt Attempt
By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)
BOSTON (CBS) -- There are ill-advised play calls. There are botched plays. And then there's what the Colts did on Sunday Night Football against the Patriots.
Trailing by just 6 points with one minute left in the third quarter, the Colts lined up to punt on 4th and 3 before the punting unit wildly shifted their formation, moving the entire right side of the line of scrimmage to the right side of the field and leaving just receiver Griff Whalen and safety Colt Anderson in the middle of the field with the ball. Then, Whalen inexplicably snapped the ball to de facto "quarterback" Anderson who was immediately tackled by the several Patriots defenders lined up right on him.
The play left announcers speechless, pundits stunned and fans dumbfounded. NBC commentators Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth at one point just broke into laughter watching the replay. Even if the play somehow worked, it drew an illegal formation penalty because "the entire right side of the line was off the line of scrimmage." Yeah, doesn't sound legal.
Worst of all for the Colts, the Patriots capitalized on their mistake and rode their great field position to an easy touchdown from Tom Brady to LeGarrette Blount. That swing extended the Patriots' lead to 34-21 and the Colts never recovered.
An instant classic sports blooper, the Colts' fake punt attempt immediately lit up social media as viewers teed off on what will go down as the worst trick play in NFL history, and perhaps the worst play of any kind.
Resident "cheat beat" veteran Michael Hurley exploded with disbelief and went on an epic rant.
And then the memes came flying in.
Once it became apparent that the Patriots wouldn't get the blowout fans so desired, the Colts took care of the embarrassment themselves. And plenty of viewers just reveled in the utter schadenfreude of the Colts' epic fail.
A new banner? Well here's your answer, Jeff:
Even as the game came to an end, people simply could not comprehend what the Colts were doing with the fake punt attempt.
And of course, some couldn't resist but make more cheating jokes.
All in all, it was a strong night for sports memes, thanks to one horrifically dumb play that will overshadow what was otherwise an entertaining and competitive game. The Patriots earned the win and for at least two-and-a-half quarters, the Colts played well.
One mistake changed all that, and changed sports blooper highlights forever.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
