The Indianapolis Colts were the victims of one of the worst spots of all time during their Week 10 game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, and the officiating mistake had a significant impact.
The Colts quickly got into a rhythm and looked like they were going to score on their opening drive at Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. Jonathan Taylor had a strong run on 2nd-and-6 from the Atlanta 31-yard line and appeared to pick up just enough for a first down.
One official ran in and spotted the ball right at the line to gain. That spot was overruled by a different official who spotted Taylor two yards short, which set up 3rd-and-2.
The official who spotted Taylor short had to have seen another player’s knee go down and believed it was Taylor’s knee. Taylor clearly stayed on his feet and pushed his way toward the first-down marker. If he was short, it would have been by inches at most.
lmao can we talk about this spot???
how was this 2.5 yards short??? 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/5yCwisBx9A
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) November 9, 2025
Indianapolis should have challenged the spot, but head coach Shane Steichen chose not to throw his red flag. Daniel Jones then threw back-to-back incomplete passes on third down and fourth down, which resulted in a turnover.
There is no other explanation aside from the official seeing the wrong knee hit the ground. Steichen’s decision to not challenge the spot was just as costly as the terrible spot itself.