INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Colts kicker Spencer Shrader missed one opportunity to beat the Denver Broncos.
He made sure it didn’t happen twice.
After he came up short on a 60-yard field-goal attempt with no time left, a penalty on the Broncos moved the ball 15 yards closer — well within Shrader’s range — and he made the 45-yarder to give the Colts a 29-28 come-from-behind win on Sunday and their first 2-0 start since 2009.
“The first kick, I felt the pressure coming from the other side of the ball and I just felt like it got in my routine a little bit,” Shrader said. “I kind of got hit after the play so there was a little chaos. I saw the flag was thrown and then it was ‘Reset, reset your mentality, you know you’re getting another opportunity.’ Whatever happened in the past, you’ve just got to flush it and you’ve got to rethink your mentality. It’s keep your eyes down, follow through straight and make sure it goes through.”
Trailing by two with 3:15 left, the Colts played conservatively on their final drive, with Jonathan Taylor running the ball seven times and Daniel Jones throwing only one pass. Those plays netted 26 yards and set up Shrader’s attempt from the Colts logo at midfield that missed short and right.
But Dondrea Tillman was flagged for leverage — using another player to vault himself into the air to try to block the kick. Broncos coach Sean Payton didn’t quibble with the call after the game.
Shrader has made all nine of his field-goal attempts this season, including five on Sunday.
The Colts celebrated by lifting Shrader into the air as coach Shane Steichen pumped his fist while running onto the field. Steichen was still out of breath at his postgame news conference.
“It’s electric in there right now,” Steichen said, referring to the locker room. “To win a game like that — Spencer did a hell of a job finishing it there with the kick. We found a way to do it.”
Taylor had 25 carries for 165 yards and one TD catch, and he posted his 25th 100-yard game to break a tie with Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson for the second-most in franchise history.
Jones had another efficient performance, avoiding any turnovers in his second Colts start. He was 23 of 34 for 316 yards, one TD pass and one TD run — his first 300-yard game since Sept. 17, 2023 for the New York Giants.
Indy’s defense stiffened after allowing J.K. Dobbins to score on a 5-yard TD run early in the third quarter to give Denver a 28-20 lead. The Colts snuffed out one scoring chance with Cam Bynum’s interception inside their 10-yard line and only needed the field goal to win because Wil Lutz’s 42-yard try clanked off the right upright with 3:15 to play.
“We did a lot of things late in that game to keep ourselves from winning,” Payton said. “It’ll be painful to watch that film. There will be a bitter taste for a little while. We put ourselves in position to control the game late. Then, it slipped out of our hands.”
The crazy finish epitomized the oddities of a game featuring two offenses that, at times, moved the ball at will against two of last week’s stingiest defenses. Denver had the only three punts of the game. Indy avoided punting for the second straight week, marking the first time in the Super Bowl era a team has done that in the first two games of a season.
The Washington Commanders didn’t punt in Weeks 2 and 3 last year.
Bo Nix finished 22 of 30 for 206 yards with three TDs — all in the first half — and one interception for Denver (1-1). Troy Franklin had a touchdown catch and finished with career bests of eight catches for 89 yards. Dobbins rushed 14 times for 76 yards.
Stopped, finally
Last week, the Colts became the first team to score on every possession since 1977. This week, they opened with two field goals and a TD on their first three drives to make it 10 for 10.
The streak ended when tight end Tyler Warren was stopped short of a first down on a fourth-and-1 run with 7:28 left in the first half. Then the Colts lost their cool on Denver’s ensuing 50-yard TD drive, drawing four penalties, including an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Indy’s sideline after Steichen tossed his hat and ran down the field to argue a pass interference call on third-and-7.
Injuries
Broncos: Cornerback Patrick Surtain II, last year’s NFL defensive player of the year, needed help to get off the field in the first half with an injured left ankle but returned on the next series after getting the ankle taped. Zach Allen also came out early but returned.
Colts: All-Pro left guard Quenton Nelson appeared to hurt his knee in the final two minutes of the first half but returned after halftime.
Up next
Broncos: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.
Colts: Play their first away game next Sunday at Tennessee.
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