Spencer Shrader hits 5th field goal at buzzer to lift Colts past Broncos

Field Level Media|published: Sun 14th September, 19:43 2025

Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez (8), Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) and Indianapolis Colts safety Cam Bynum (0) celebrate as the leave the field Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, after a game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. A field goal by Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) won the game for the Indianapolis Colts.

Spencer Shrader kicked a 45-yard field goal with no time left, his fifth of the game, and the host Indianapolis Colts rallied to beat the Denver Broncos 29-28 on Sunday.

Shrader missed his initial kick from 60 yards but a 15-yard leverage penalty on Denver's Dondrea Tillman moved the ball to the Broncos' 27-yard line and gave him another chance.

He split the uprights to give Indianapolis the win, lifting the team to its first 2-0 start since 2009.

Denver led 28-26 late in the fourth quarter when Will Lutz missed a 42-yard field goal with 3:19 remaining. The Colts drove to the Broncos' 42-yard line with three seconds left to set up the dramatic finish.

Jonathan Taylor rushed 25 times for 165 yards and had 50 more receiving yards, including a touchdown catch. Daniel Jones was 23-of-34 passing for 316 yards and a touchdown and rushed for a score for Indianapolis.

Bo Nix threw touchdown passes to Troy Franklin, Marvin Mims Jr. and Adam Trautman and finished 22-for-30 passing for 206 yards and an interception, and J.K. Dobbins ran for 76 yards and a score for Denver (1-1).

Franklin finished with eight catches for 89 yards for the Broncos.

Denver countered two field goals by Shrader with Nix's 23-yard touchdown pass to Mims to take a 7-6 lead after the first quarter, and both offenses clicked in the second.

Jones capped an 85-yard drive with a 1-yard TD run to put Indianapolis ahead 13-7, but Nix put the Broncos ahead with touchdown passes to Franklin for 3 yards and a 2-yard toss to Trautman.

Taylor cut the deficit to 21-20 with a 7-yard TD catch from Jones heading into halftime.

Dobbins stretched the lead to 28-20 with a 5-yard scamper on the first drive of the third quarter, and Shrader's third field goal, from 36 yards out, made it 28-23 heading into the fourth.

Denver had a chance to make it a two-score game early in the final quarter, but Nix was intercepted at the Colts' 9-yard line by Cam Bynum. Taylor's 68-yard run gave Indianapolis a first down at the Broncos' 12, but Indianapolis had to settle for a 28-yard Shrader field goal.

--Field Level Media