This season hasn’t been easy for Indianapolis Colts fans, who saw their team eliminated from the playoff race. But before wrapping up the campaign, Colts head coach Shane Steichen came up with a fun experiment that worked perfectly against the Houston Texans in Week 18, creating a viral moment on social media and drawing applause from fans.
NFL Fans Praise Colts and HC Shane Steichen for Fake Punt
The Colts had a promising start to the season, but in recent weeks, several things went south for the team, whether it was the season-ending injury to quarterback Daniel Jones or bringing legend Philip Rivers out of retirement.
Rivers took command of Indianapolis with the aim of pushing them into the playoffs, but it didn’t work out, as the team suffered three consecutive losses under his leadership. In the final week of the regular season, the reins were handed to rookie QB Riley Leonard, who made his first NFL start.
With the Colts already out of the playoff picture and little at stake, the team decided to pull off a fun trick against the Texans. During the first quarter, they ran a fake punt, with punter Rigoberto Sanchez throwing to Mo Alie-Cox for 16 yards and a first down.
The play was unusual and caught both Houston and the crowd by surprise, but that wasn’t all. Since the first attempt worked so well, the Colts tried to fool them again. Indianapolis kept its punt team on the field and ran a direct snap to the upback, catching Houston off guard and resulting in a “too many men on the field” penalty for a free five yards.
Reacting to the wild fake punt, an NFL analyst wrote: “The Colts running a fake punt on FIRST DOWN after converting a fake punt from their own 20 is absolutely diabolical week 18 coaching. Kept their special teams unit on and ran a direct snap run. Caught the Texans with too many men on the field.”
The Colts running a fake punt on FIRST DOWN after converting a fake punt from their own 20 is absolutely diabolical week 18 coaching. Kept their special teams unit on and ran a direct snap run. Caught the Texans with too many men on the field pic.twitter.com/WRJSwhgy2V
— Ollie Connolly (@OllieConnolly) January 4, 2026
Responding to the post, one fan praised Steichen, writing, “Shane Steichen is the man.”
Shane Steichen is the man https://t.co/j0HUGPUvGO
— Allen Strk (@allenstrk) January 4, 2026
FOX Sports’ Warren Sharp also reacted to the surprising moment, saying he had never seen anything like it before: “OMG I have NEVER seen this before 🔥🔥. 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!!!”
OMG I have NEVER seen this before 🔥🔥
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
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) January 4, 2026
Replying to Sharp’s post, one fan added that it would be surprising if the Colts decided to move on from Steichen after the season, writing, “Colts would be insane to fire Shane.”
Colts would be insane to fire Shane https://t.co/pahHCNE1dD
— John Barchard | Watching the Birds 🦅 (@JohnBarchard) January 4, 2026
This bold move from the Colts not only caught the Texans off guard but also stunned fans and experts alike, many of whom had never seen a team have this much fun in its final game of the season.
