Indianapolis Colts punter mocks ESPN analysts

Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee trolled the panel of ESPN analysts who unanimously chose the Denver Broncos to win their AFC Divisional Playoff match.

Another year meant another playoff disappointment compliments of Peyton Manning in 2014. This time, the stinging loss came at the hands of the team that let him go after years of stellar service. Against the expectations of every ESPN pre-game show analyst, the Indianapolis Colts beat the Broncos in Denver. That prompted Colts punt Pat McAfee to circle around and throw that fact back in the panel’s collective face.

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You can always count on the punter to bring the high heat when his team has been dissed. McAfee wasn’t about to let people forget about the latest incident of having overlooked the Colts, despite them sporting the top passer in the league in 2014. And hey, the punter wasn’t so bad either.

It wasn’t just ESPN that believed in Denver’s odds, despite the late-season struggles of Peyton Manning. Vegas made the Broncos a seven-point favorite in advance of their home playoff game against Manning’s old team. Anyone making the safe pick would have dropped a selection on the Broncos.

But it was the Colts who played like the favorites on Sunday, taking over the game from the moments following the opening drive in which the Broncos scored its opening touchdown. That would be Denver’s last of the game.

Fueled in large part by a ferocious defensive performance, the Colts held Denver to just six more points for the rest of the game en route to a 24-13 win that puts them in the first Conference Championship game of quarterback Andrew Luck’s career.

None of that success is lost on the punter McAfee, whose Colts have been largely written off since the start of the season. It’s no surprise that people didn’t give the team much of a chance, given the struggles Indy has coped with at keeping a healthy offensive line as well as fielding a consistent defense throughout the 2014 season.

Neither of those appeared to be issues on Sunday however, as the Colts took the game to the Broncos early and often. As a result, the Colts will once again get to suit up as underdogs when they visit the New England Patriots, who are certainly feeling good about themselves after beating the Baltimore Ravens in the biggest comeback in franchise playoff history.

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