HOUSTON – Alec Pierce is a player fully in control of himself.
That's not an easy thing to do when you're asked to pluck passes out of the air amid physical contact and millimeters of separation. Or when you're asked to accelerate past a flat-footed defensive back and, hundreds of feet away from your quarterback, turn your head and grab a deep shot. Or when you might go through a game without a target until you're called upon in a critical moment and expected to deliver.
Mentally, Pierce is intense yet steady – the kind of guy whose never lets his focus drift, or let frustration boil over into a detrimental outburst.
"I don't think I've ever got ejected," Pierce said.
Well, until Sunday.
On a third-and-goal play from the six-yard line late in the third quarter of the Colts' season finale, quarterback Riley Leonard targeted Pierce in the back of the end zone. Houston Texans cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram's coverage was physical – too physical, Pierce thought, so he went to plead his case for pass interference with the nearest official.
In the process of doing so, Pierce's body grazed the official.
"I was talking to him about that, and I guess I bumped him," Pierce said.
A flag came out, just not for pass interference. Pierce was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct, a 15-yard penalty, and was ejected from the game.
"He was just talking to the official and they said he bumped into him, and that was the call," head coach Shane Steichen said. "And obviously Alec did not mean to do that. Alec, his character is top of the line, one of the best dudes on our team. So just an unfortunate situation."
Making the ejection more unfortunate was the season finale Pierce had put together.
The 25-year-old had a 66-yard touchdown (a career high) and a 53-yard snag as part of a four-catch, 132-yard, two-touchdown game. The 132 yards pushed Pierce to 1,003 yards on the season, getting him his first career 1,000-yard campaign.
"It's a huge milestone," Pierce said. "That's a goal of every receiver in the NFL. It's a notable milestone. Obviously season didn't end how we wanted and would much rather be in the playoffs, but take what we can get."
And for the second consecutive year, the Pierce led the NFL in yards per reception (22.3 in 2024, 21.3 in 2025).
The 2022 second-round pick became the first player since former Los Angeles Rams receiver Flipper Anderson in 1989 and 1990 to average 20 or more yards per catch on at least 35 receptions in consecutive seasons.
But Pierce in 2025 proved to be more than a deep ball merchant. As the season went on, when the Colts needed a play to be made through the air, Pierce emerged as a reliable target to make big-time, tough catches in critical moments.
"I think it's his work ethic, first and foremost, the way he goes about his business every day, shows up to work, competes his tail off," Steichen said, "and then when the ball is thrown to him, he makes the play."
The Colts didn't get in the end zone again after Pierce was ejected, settling for 39- and 22-yard field goals in the fourth quarter of a 38-30 loss (which only was that wide a margin because the Texans scored a defensive touchdown as time expired when a last-second lateral attempt hit the ground). It was the Colts' seventh consecutive loss, and that Pierce couldn't be a part of the final 15 minutes of it stung – especially since he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
The question of Pierce's future with the Colts is one to be answered later. In the visiting locker room at NRG Stadium on Sunday, though, Pierce was left to wrestle with some odd feelings regarding the end of a fantastic fourth season in the NFL.
"Wasn't the way I wanted to finish," Pierce said. "It was kind of an abrupt ending to the season here. I wanted to be out there and finish with my brothers today."
