NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rigoberto Sanchez is finally on the board.
The Colts had to punt.
For the first time in the 2025 season, Indianapolis punted in the second quarter of Sunday’s 41-20 beatdown of the Titans, breaking a streak that covered 165 snaps, 19 offensive possessions and more than 77 minutes of game time without actually being forced to punt.
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“I was kind of pissed about it, to be honest,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said. “We were all on the headsets like ‘Crap, we punted. Shoot! Because we thought we had the penalty, and we were like ‘Oh, we’ve still got it going.’”
A flag was on the field after Daniel Jones fired high on a third-down pass to Adonai Mitchell, leaving open the possibility of the drive continuing, the way an early drive against Miami was kept alive when a Dolphin was flagged for running into the kicker on Sanchez’s only prior swing of the leg this season.
But the referees picked up the flag.
Steichen had little choice but to throw the flag, although the Colts coach later admitted there was a part of him that wanted to roll the dice on fourth down, even though Indianapolis was facing a third-and-5 at its own 45-yard line.
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The entire Indianapolis offense wanted to keep the streak alive.
“Should have converted the third down, honestly,” Jones said after the game.
Sanchez has been good-natured about his lack of punting work, pointing out that he still has a role as the team’s holder for kicker Spencer Shrader, who has made 11 of 12 field goals and 10 extra points through the first three games.
The ninth-year veteran has been doing this a long time.
“You prepare on the sideline the entire time,” Sanchez said. “Even the past couple of games. It’s actually kind of funny, because I’m out hitting in the net, third down, fourth down, watching where we’re at, imagining the type of kick I’m going to have, and today, I was able to go out there and have one kick.”
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Sanchez lofted a gorgeous punt, a directional 46-yarder that carried Tennessee return man Chimere Dike toward the sideline and forced him to signal for a fair catch under the weight of Ashton Dulin boring down on him. Dulin launched his Titans blocker in Dike’s direction, hoping to create enough contact to jar the ball loose.
Tennessee started its next drive at the 9-yard line.
“It was a hell of a punt,” Steichen admitted. “Got them backed up.”
The Colts head coach couldn’t help himself, heading over to Sanchez to congratulate him on a job well done at his primary position.
“I said ‘You got some work in today, finally,’” Steichen said.
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Then Steichen relegated his punter right back to holding duties again.
Indianapolis had the ball six more times on Sunday.
The Colts never punted again.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Rigoberto Sanchez punts for the Colts for the first time this season