MINNEAPOLIS - Spencer Shrader’s day at U.S. Bank Stadium came down to two misses, and the Colts kicker said the first one knocked him off his rhythm in a way he couldn’t shake.
Shrader was brutally honest after Sunday’s loss, explaining that his third-quarter attempt from 56 yards - a low, ugly kick pulled left after the ball had been tipped - left him out of sorts. It was the first field goal he had missed in six weeks and his first miss from the spot since Week 3 of 2025.
“Yeah, so I didn’t hit that one so well,” Shrader told IndyStar postgame. “I pulled across it a little bit.
Really frustrating because I’m not exactly sure why I wasn’t able to follow my routine on that kick and hit a good ball. Really, on those longer kicks, I’m just focused on hitting a clean ball, and that one’s frustrating because I didn’t feel like I gave it a chance.
“If you hit a good ball, and it’s just off, it is what it is, but in that situation, I didn’t give do good enough about following my routine to hit a clean ball.”
The miss landed especially hard because of how sharp Shrader had been all season. He had made his first 19 field goals of 2026, and 19 times he had come trotting back to the sideline high-fiving teammates.
That run included six makes from at least 50 yards, an eye-catching stretch even in a league built for long-distance kickers. After opening the regular season with a missed extra point in Week 1, he rattled off 31 straight makes.
A year ago, the picture looked very different. Shrader was still in the early stages of a months-long rehab from the torn ACL in his kicking leg, suffered on a gruesome hit in Week 5 of his first full-time NFL season. Now, entering Week 7 against what was described as maybe the league’s fiercest defense, he arrived in Minneapolis with the hottest leg in the league conversation.
His second miss came later, and this one stung just as much. With the Colts trailing 13-10 and 4:27 left, Shrader pushed a 48-yard try just right. He said the first miss had thrown him off enough that he couldn’t settle himself back down.
“I really didn’t feel like I let the previous miss affect my mentality but, obviously, I was kinda thrown off, and I wasn’t able to follow my routine, and I pushed my second one,” Shrader said. “It’s hard sometimes when you’re in the game and you know what you’re capable of, and you just feel a little bit off. You think, ‘How do I get myself back on track?’
“A really difficult game, and I feel really embarrassed. I feel really responsible for the team’s loss, but also thankful for these guys and their support and loving on me afterwards and knowing I have a big role on this team."
Rigoberto Sanchez, the Colts’ longtime punter and holder, still sees Shrader as the kind of kicker who usually absorbs a bad moment and keeps rolling. Sanchez pointed to the way Shrader has handled everything over the past year, and to the kicks he has been drilling along the way.
“To be honest, this league is just a hard place, period, and the way he’s been handling everything - big kicks included he’s been making - that doesn’t go unnoticed,” Sanchez told IndyStar on Sunday. “I always tell him he’s, like, the best kicker ever.”
Luke Rhodes also got a close-up look at the bounce-back process before Shrader faced reporters. The veteran long snapper was speaking quietly with him nearby Sunday afternoon, telling him:
" You know how good you are, and you know that kick goes in 99% of the time. And it will. You’ll make it."
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