One year ago today, we witnessed perhaps the worst play in the history of the NFL.
On the night of Oct. 18, 2015, the Colts opened up a bag of tricks best left closed forever. Colt Anderson and Griff Whalen, this might not be your fault, but this is your life.
"The whole idea there was on fourth-and-3 or less, we shift to an alignment to where we could catch them misaligned," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said afterwards. "They tried to sub some people in. Catch them with more men on the field -- 12 men on the field. And if you get a certain look, you have three (or) two yards to make a play.
"We shifted over and I didn't do a good enough job coaching it during the week. Alignment wise, we weren't lined up correctly and we had a communication breakdown between the quarterback and snapper. That's on me."
For me, the underrated treasure here is official Tony Corrente, who announced the Colts penalty in a way that neatly encapsulated the absurdity America had just witnessed.
"Illegal formation, the whole right side of the line was not on the line of scrimmage, offense. This penalty is declined. The result of the play is first down for New England."
This was the most embarrassing play since the Butt-Fumble, an infamous boner that again directly benefited the Patriots. And like that ThanksgivingJets debacle, the Colts-Pats tilt occurred in primetime, with Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth on the mic. Makes you wonder if the pressure of playing under the lights against big, bad Belichick makes some teams act funny.
Also funny:
» Belichick's "You bet your ass I'm declining that penalty!" body language.
»Colts punter Pat McAfee walking off the field like a guy back from war who saw too much.
» The score! You're down six points, at home, with a full quarter to play. I'm telling you, the Pats do strange things to teams!
