INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis Colts coach Chuck Pagano knows all too well what Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll went through after the Seahawks failed to execute a fake field goal in the final seconds of the first half of their 34-31 loss to Atlanta on Monday.
Here's ESPN Seahawks reporter Brady Henderson's explanation of the blunder by Carroll's team.
Not content with a 35-yard field goal that would have made it 24-20 heading into halftime, Seattle dialed up a fake that called for holder Jon Ryan to shovel the ball to tight end Luke Willson, who was lined up on the left wing and sprinted back across the formation. It failed spectacularly when Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett blew through the gap between long-snapper Tyler Ott and a pulling Mark Glowinski to bury Willson for a 4-yard loss, resulting in a turnover on downs and a wasted opportunity for Seattle.
"It was a chance to make a big play," Carroll said. "We had a chance to make a touchdown, or get out of bounds. If that pops, he might walk in. We were prepared. We had worked on it, we saw something that we liked. We didn't expect the nose tackle to make the play. We felt we would get him knocked off and we didn't. So it didn't work out. But that was being aggressive and going for it and trying to get a touchdown there."
Don't worry, Pete, you didn't pull off the worst failed special teams play in recent years. That honor still belongs to Pagano's Colts against New England in Week 6 of the 2015 season.
What happened: The Colts were trailing the Patriots 27-21 late in the third quarter when they brought out the punt team on fourth-and-3 from their 37-yard line. Rather than line up in their normal formation, the Colts, including punter Pat McAfee, lined up out wide to the right, with only Griff Whalen as the center and safety Colt Anderson lined up under him to take the snap. Whalen snapped it to Anderson, who was immediately tackled, giving the Patriots a short field to work with.
The Colts ended up being the butt of countless jokes on social media, radio and television.
It got so bad that the University of Maine football team trolled the Colts on Twitter.
Hey @Colts, this is how it's done. #BlackBearNation #CAAFB pic.twitter.com/QgokyjOK7m
— Maine Football (@BlackBearsFB) October 19, 2015
McAfee went on the on the "Bob & Tom Show" in Indianapolis several days later to explain the botched play.
"The point of the play is a deception play," McAfee said. "So you're trying to manipulate the [Patriots] into thinking they have to sub their defense back on. We are sprinting to the sideline in hopes to make the other team think we are subbing our offense back on the field."
It also turned out that Whalen was only on the field for the play because then-rookie Clayton Geathers left the game with a knee injury. Whalen had never practiced the play before.
The impact of the play: The Patriots ended up winning the game 34-27. Pagano said he didn't regret the play call, but it was like he didn't feel like his team could beat the Patriots without trying to be cute.
McAfee said it was "one of the worst failed fakes probably of all time."