The final Sunday of the NFL season can lead to strange moments, with teams whose seasons will soon be over trying new things that they wouldn't normally do in a game. That's exactly what happened in Houston when the Colts pulled off something we've never seen before: they ran fake punts on back-to-back plays even though they picked up a first down on the initial attempt.
With just over four minutes left the first quarter, Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez threw a dime to tight end Mo Alie-Cox for a first down. Usually that would lead to the offense coming back on the field, but this is Week 18 so anything goes. The Colts kept the punt team out on the field and had the snap go to one of the up backs.
The refs quickly whistled the play dead and threw a flag on the Texans for having too many men on the field, which gave the Colts a free five yards.
This whole video of that sequence is tremendous, with Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt reacting in real time to the genius move on the CBS broadcast.
OMG I have NEVER seen this before 🔥🔥
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 4, 2026
Colts ran a fake punt on 4th down they converted
Next play, on 1st & 10, they left the punt team on the field!
And ran a fake punt again!
Texans had no clue what was happening and had too many men on the field
ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!! pic.twitter.com/WSm91nTDt0
Former Colts kicker Pat McAfee absolutely loved that move:
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 4, 2026
The Colts, who are 8-8 and have been eliminated from the playoffs, later kicked a field goal on that drive to take a 10-6 lead.
NFL fans raved about the back-to-back fake punt attempts:
Brilliant thinking https://t.co/O52NH7czQo
— Dave Loughran (@Loughy) January 4, 2026
This is what week 18 should largely about, just digging deep in the trick bag at least once https://t.co/pTowFMeoXy
— Jordan Larson (@Jolarson12) January 4, 2026
I love week18 https://t.co/G7LcpIWPY8
— Dairy Doug (@MustachdMilkman) January 4, 2026
Unbelievable stuff by Steichen 😂 https://t.co/IzFxCFDGO2
— Cody Suek (@CodySuek) January 4, 2026
Rad. Love when coaches think outside the box like this! https://t.co/30Se6iNxq3
— Chris Fore (@chriscfore) January 4, 2026
Week 18 is the best.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Colts Had Everyone Raving About Their Genius Fake Punt Attempt on First Down.
