According to McAfee, the play was intended to trick the Patriots into being penalized for having too many men on the field or going offside, which would have resulted in a Colts first down.

McAfee said Indianapolis planned on letting the play clock run out after it failed to draw a New England penalty, but a "communications breakdown" led to the ball being snapped.

With strong running games and accurate kickers on each side, the Colts led the close contest by only a single point at halftime, 21–20.

After Brady threw a touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski on the Patriots' first drive of the third quarter, the teams traded punts for several possessions.

Whalen snapped the ball with one second remaining on the play clock, and Bolden was immediately on top of Anderson, wrestling him to the ground with the assistance of Tarell Brown for a loss of two yards.

You tell me.Collinsworth: I thought maybe they were trying to get them to jump offsides.A nonplussed Collinsworth spent several moments trying to analyze the play, making statements such as, "That was insane," "I've never seen anything more bizarre than that," and "What was the plan?"

The player who had initially been assigned the role of snapper, McAfee said, was deactivated on Saturday due to illness, leaving Whalen only a day or so to learn the play.

Pagano had apparently told Anderson before the play that he was to use a hard count to try to draw them offside should they fail to catch the defense with too many men on the field.

This would also give a first down if successful and was still intended to lead to a delay of game if the Patriots did not commit either penalty.

Whalen was unaware of this last-minute change to the play; McAfee noted that even the other players on the field were not expecting Anderson's hard count.

[3] The Colts finished the year 8–8, one game behind the AFC South champion Houston Texans, beginning a three-year playoff drought.

Internet memes that spread in the immediate aftermath featured Luck, Pagano, and other Colts figures cast as the Three Stooges, along with Hillary Clinton and other political characters.