The Denver Broncos went from victory celebration to heartbreak on Sunday in a matter of seconds.
Their defense came up with the stop they needed and forced Indianapolis Colts kicker Spencer Shrader into a 60-yard field attempt as time expired with the game on the line.
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Shrader missed — for the first time in his brief NFL career — seemingly securing a 28-26 win for the Broncos. But a personal foul penalty on the kick gave the Colts second life and moved Sharader 15 yards closer.
From there, Shrader split the uprights for a 45-yard field goal with no time left on the clock to secure a stunning, 29-28 Colts win.
The kick improved Sharder to 32 makes in 32 NFL field-goal attempts. And it sent Lucas Oil Stadium and the Colts sideline into a frenzy.
On the Broncos sideline, stunned silence. Denver had multiple chances to close out a win Sunday, but didn’t finish the job.
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After giving up 20 first-half points to the Colts, Denver’s defense kept Indianapolis out of the end zone in the second half. The Broncos led for the entire second half until the clock read zero and had two different looks at securing a victory on offense.
Nix’s interception breathes new life into Colts
But a fourth-quarter interception thrown by Bo Nix and a missed field goal by Wil Lutz left the door open for the Colts. And against all odds, they capitalized.
While holding a 28-23 lead, the Broncos came up with a stop on midfield on fourth-and-2 with a blitz that forced a Daniel Jones incompletion with 13:06 remaining. The turnover on downs set the Broncos up in good field position with a chance to milk the clock and extend their led to double digits.
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The Broncos drove into field goal range, but Bo Nix threw an off target deep ball on third-and-3 that Colts safety Cam Bynum intercepted at the 9-yard line.
The Colts drove 81 yards on the ensuing drive sparked by a 68-yard run from Jonathan Taylor. But the Broncos held them to a field goal and once again had a chance to win the game on offense with their lead cut to 28-26.
Missed Lutz kick sets up Shrader’s heroics
This time, the Broncos drove 41 yards in 5:18 before their drive stalled out, setting up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Lutz with 3:19 remaining. But Lutz pushed his kick, and the ball bounced off the right upright and missed.
The miss left the Colts with possession of the ball at their own 32 and needing just a field goal to win with 3:15 remaining.
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Colts coach Shane Steichen played it conservative with the opportunity after Indianapolis gained a first down at the Denver 43 with 1:44 remaining. Instead of attempting to drive deeper into Denver territory, Steichen called three straight conservative runs for Jonathan Taylor while letting the clock run.
The result was a 60-yard field goal attempt with the game on the line for a kicker with five games of NFL experience and a career-long make of 48 yards. Shrader missed wide right on a kick that never had a chance and the clocked ticked down to zero, setting of a celebration on the Broncos sideline.
But a flag was thrown. Officials called Broncos linebacker Dondrea Tillman for a leverage penalty pushing off the back of the Colts long snapper in an effort to block the kick. The penalty is a personal foul that granted the Colts 15 yards and a first down.
Given a second chance to be the hero from 15 yards closer, Shrader didn’t miss. And his Colts teammates carried him off the field on their shoulders.
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The kick capped another outstanding effort from the Indianapolis offense against a Broncos defense that’s projected among the best in the league. Led by Daniel Jones, the Colts blitzed the Miami Dolphins in Week 1 with a 33-8 win in which they scored on every offensive possession.
Jones led another efficient effort on Sunday as the Colts scored on their first three possessions and became the first team in NFL history to score on each of the first 10 possessions of their season. Jones finished the day completing 23 of 34 passes for 316 yards with one touchdown and no turnovers. Taylor added 165 yards on the ground as the Colts rung up 473 yards of offense against Denver’s vaunted defense.
But most of the damage was done in the first half as the Broncos repeatedly came up with red zone stops.
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But mistakes ultimately doomed the Broncos and nullified an efficient effort from Nix, who finished the day completing 22 of 30 passes for 206 yards with three touchdowns. But it was his late interception that will stand out from Sunday.
The loss sent the Broncos home stunned and dazed, with a 1-1 record that they briefly believed was 2-0.
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