Pat McAfee executes perfect fake punt pass for 35-yard gain to set up Colts score

Nothing was going right for the Indianapolis Colts whatsoever, as they were about to punt it back to the Steelers down 14-0 after another failed drive despite a big kick return from Jordan Todman that started Indy in Pittsburgh territory.

But then the Colts dialed up a fake punt, as Pat McAfee rolled to his right and delivered the best pass of the night by a Colt, hitting Erik Swoope for a first down. Swoope then made a move and took off running, winding up with a 35-yard gain. Here’s a look at the play.

The Colts took advantage of the fake punt that made it first and goal, as two plays later Scott Tolzien made a nice pass to Donte Moncrief for the five-yard score. That made it 14-7 Steelers, but the fake punt gave the Colts life for the first time in this game.

It was a great call and very well-executed by Pat McAfee and Erik Swoope. It was the first completed pass of McAfee’s career and the second attempt, though the first was also perfectly placed but dropped by Dewey McDonald. McAfee is the team’s emergency quarterback, and tonight he made a tremendous play that gave the team a spark. We’ll see whether it proves to be the turning point in the game or not, but it was impressive nonetheless.

According to former Colts linebacker Pat Angerer, McAfee used to do the same as an occasional scout team quarterback in practice: