Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce made an early exit Sunday in what may have been the best game of his career after lightly bumping into an official.
The 25-year-old University of Cincinnati product had four catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns in the 8-9 Colts’ 38-30 loss to the 12-5 Houston Texans before being tossed by field judge Jabir Walker, who has since been dubbed the ‘softest man in the world’ by furious fans.
‘No way Alec Pierce deserves to get ejected for this,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘Colts got hosed with that one.
‘If Jabir Walker can’t handle brushing arms with a player, he shouldn’t be out there. Embarrassingly soft call.’
Pierce nearly caught a touchdown on the play, but was ruled out of bounds by Walker.
Feeling that he was pushed out by the Houston secondary, Pierce approached Walker and accidentally brushed into the official in the process. He was given an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and disqualified, indicating that Walker felt Pierce’s actions were ‘flagrant or severe,’ according to the league rule book.
Field judge Jabir Walker gets an earful from Colts wide receiver Alec Pierce after his ejection
Pierce felt he was pushed out on this would-be touchdown catch against the Texans
‘That’s as soft as baby s***,’ one angry fan commented on X.
Others took issue with the NFL rulebook, which strictly forbids any contact with officials.
‘This shouldn’t be an ejection,’ one fan wrote on X. ‘It shouldn’t even be a penalty. They need to change the rules if the rules say otherwise.’
After the penalty on Pierce, the Colts settled for a 39-yard field goal that put them up 27-26.
As for the rest of the game, C.J. Stroud accounted for two touchdowns and Ka´imi Fairbairn made a go-ahead field goal with 12 seconds left to lift the Texans. The victory gives Houston (12-5) the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Defensive tackle Tommy Togiai scooped up a fumble on the final play and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown to pad the lead.
The Texans clinched a third straight postseason berth last week and they had a chance to win the AFC South with a victory and a Jacksonville loss. But with the Jaguars up big over the Titans at halftime, coach DeMeco Ryans opted to rest quarterback Stroud, defensive stars Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Derek Stingley and several other starters after the break.
The Colts led 30-29 after a field goal with about 2 1/2 minutes to go before Fairbairn’s 43-yard kick put the Texans on top 32-30 and gave him a career-high six field goals in the game.
Pierce had four touchdowns and 871 receiving yards on 43 catches across the 2025 season
Rookie Riley Leonard had 270 yards passing with two TDs and he ran for another score. But he also lost a fumble and threw an interception in his first NFL start after the 44-year-old Philip Rivers started the past three games for the Colts after coming out of retirement.
It´s the seventh straight loss for the Colts (8-9), who were eliminated from postseason contention with Houston´s win last week.
Stroud had an 11-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and added a 2-yard run in the period to put the Texans up 20-10.
The Texans trailed 27-26 early in the fourth when Alijah Huzzie picked off Leonard to give them great field position. They failed to move the ball and settled for a 44-yard field goal to take a 29-27 lead.
Jonathan Taylor had 14 carries for just 26 yards to end the season with 1,585 yards and finish second in the NFL in yards rushing behind Buffalo’s James Cook.
