Spencer Shrader converts from 45 yards after penalty on 60-yard miss and Colts beat Broncos 29-28

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.

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.

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.

Broncos: Visit the Los Angeles Chargers next Sunday.

Colts: Play their first away game next Sunday at Tennessee.

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Denver Broncos wide receiver Troy Franklin runs during the second half an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor (28) runs in for a touchdown during the first half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) celebrates Sith Rigoberto Sanchez (8) and Cam Bynum (0) after Schrader kicked a game winning field goal during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) kicks the game winning field goal out of the hold of Rigoberto Sanchez during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)

Indianapolis Colts place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) celebrates with teammates after kicking the game winning field goal during the second half an NFL football game against the Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media that the U.S. Coast Guard had boarded the Motor Tanker Veronica early Thursday. She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, it was partially filled with crude.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for moving cargoes of illicit Russian oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

However, other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear that they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)