Spencer Shrader Saves Colts with Game-Winner Over Broncos

After the Broncos missed a 42-yard field goal with the score 28-26, the Colts had 3:15 left to take the lead. While some expected head coach Shane Steichen to be aggressive with his play calls at that time, Steichen took a very conservative approach instead. The Colts weren't going for the touchdown to win the game; rather, they were going for the field goal.

Steichen trusted that if the Colts could get the ball into Shrader's range, the game was theirs for the taking. It is a lot of confidence to have in a kicker who has only officially been the starter for three games as a Colt.

However, Shrader has quickly earned the trust of the entire coaching staff with his meticulous preparation and unwavering desire to improve every day. The production has also matched the preparation, as Shrader was 8-for-8 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points for the season at that time.

“It's a day-by-day process," Shrader elaborated. "It's coming in the facility every day and just doing your best and trying to figure out ways that you can improve. It's him seeing me (in) environments where I succeed, but it's also him seeing me in environments where I fail, and kind of how I handle that moving forward. So, you develop that trust, and that process starts obviously in OTAs and carries through training camp and then during the season."

Steichen leaned heavily on Jonathan Taylor to get the football into Shrader's range on the final drive. Taylor had put together a monster afternoon already with 215 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, and the head coach was entrusting the former All-Pro to finish it off. Seven of the Colts' final eight plays were runs by Taylor.

Meanwhile, Shrader was on the sidelines, mentally preparing for the biggest kick of his life up to this point.

"I was obviously trying to stay as calm as I could on the sideline and just thinking about, ‘Listen, God loves you no matter what. Just go out there and do your best for the team. Like the more that you think about, the more that's going to get in your head. So, just think about your process.’"

However, the Colts were only able to gain 26 yards, getting to the Broncos' 42-yard line. Steichen made a questionable decision to run the ball on third-and-seven instead of going for the first down, and the play resulted in a two-yard loss. If the Colts were not able to capture the victory, much of the scrutiny would likely fall on Steichen's conservative approach and game management on the final drive.

Shrader trotted out onto the field with a massive 60-yard field goal attempt for the win looming. The kick was within Shrader's range, but it would need to be a perfect ball.

Unfortunately for the Colts, Shrader did not kick a perfect ball. The kick was right and short of the goal post, leading the officials under the uprights to signal 'No Good.' It looked as if Denver was going to escape Lucas Oil Stadium with the victory.

"Went out there and felt pretty comfortable," Shrader admitted. "The first kick, I felt the pressure coming from the other side of the ball and I just felt like it just kind of got in my routine a little bit. So, I felt like that disappointment right after the kick. I kind of got hit after the play. So, there was a lot of chaos going on."

However, the game was not over. Not even in the slightest.

As the Broncos began to celebrate, another official blew his whistle. Leverage was called against Dondrea Tillman as he pushed off the back of right guard Dalton Tucker while trying to block the kick. The personal foul resulted in a 15-yard penalty and another try for Shrader to end the game.

"I saw the flag was thrown, and then it was like, ‘Reset. Reset your mentality. You know you’re getting another opportunity. Whatever happened in the past, you just got to flush it. You’ve got to rethink about your mentality. It's keep your eyes down, follow through straight, and hopefully that thing goes through.’"

Instead of a 60-yard attempt for the win, it was a 45-yard attempt for Shrader and the Colts. A chaotic situation on the first kick still made for a difficult second attempt. But Steichen's confidence never wavered in his young kicker.

“I think he has a calmness about him," Steichen explained. "I really do. He's just a happy-go-lucky guy. Nothing really phases him, even in that situation, you could tell he was calm, cool (and) collected when he got a second opportunity there.”

The snap from Luke Rhodes to Rigoberto Sanchez was perfect. Sanchez put it down, and Shrader was not going to miss this time. The kick went up and right down the middle. Ballgame.

"I was able to do a good job of resetting in that instance and hitting a good kick for the team," Shrader recalled. "I got swarmed so fast. I looked up, I saw it going through and it was like, ‘Bang.’"

The Colts found a way to beat a good team on a day when they were not at their best. They may have come out on top, but Steichen's group has plenty to improve upon.

The lack of execution in the red zone made the game closer than it needed to be for the Colts. While Shrader was a perfect 5-for-5 on field goals, the Colts need more drives to end in seven points rather than three.

There are also things to clean up defensively. The pass rush was almost non-existent, giving Nix time to sit in the pocket and find his receivers for most of the afternoon. Penalties also hurt the Colts, allowing the Broncos to extend drives. Outside of big plays from DeForest Buckner and Cam Bynum, Indy's defense lacked the playmaking we saw a week ago.

That said, a win is a win in the NFL, and the Colts will not apologize for how they got the victory. The Colts will look to address the issues from Sunday throughout the week ahead of their first divisional matchup against the Tennessee Titans. While the Titans are 0-2 and in the midst of a rebuild, divisional opponents are always tough to conquer.

But right now, the Colts are 2-0 and look to have the makings of a team poised to be in the thick of the playoff hunt all season. As the team celebrated in the locker room, Shrader revealed what everyone in the Colts organization is experiencing.

"It's just joy. That’s the only emotion that you’re feeling.”

And joy is something the Colts have not felt in quite some time.