Tale of 2 kickers: Shrader leads NFL with 9 field goals while Colts still haven't punted

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Spencer Shrader and Rigoberto Sanchez suit up for every Indianapolis Colts practice in side-by-side lockers.

So naturally the two specialists have developed a tight bond.

But they couldn't have envisioned a more unusual script to the start of this season.

While Shrader has been the NFL's busiest kicker through two games with a league-high nine field goals, including Sunday's game-winner, Sanchez still has not punted.

It's a tale of teammates who seem content to continue in their current roles.

“As long as we keep winning, it's fine,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “You know I've been here long enough. I just want to keep winning, man, that's it.”

Sanchez thought he had seen it all through his first eight pro seasons — winning, losing, annual quarterback changes, even a midseason coaching change. But these first two games reminded him there's always a curveball.

The Colts have scored on 14 of 17 possessions, turning the ball over twice on downs and once when time expired at the end of the first half following an inside run and they needed a leverage penalty to beat Denver on Sunday.

Sanchez actually did punt once, but it was nullified by a penalty that gave Indy (2-0) a first down. That means Sanchez is the first punter in the Super Bowl era to be unused through the first two games of a season.

It's the first time his foot got a break in consecutive games and with so much time off, Sanchez has heard the quips about being overpaid or the playful speculation about what he does during the games.

Sanchez just takes it in stride.

“I warmed up the whole game (Sunday), I still kicked and punted the whole game, so I was ready to go. Sanchez said, describing his pregame and halftime routines as well as his regular sideline workout — kicking into a net.

“Every day you prepare because if you get thrown out there, you've got to be ready.”

But Sanchez is more than just a punter — he's also the Colts' holder. And after working with kickers such as Adam Vinatieri and Matt Gay, he's now breaking in Shrader, a second-year player with his first full-time job in the NFL.

Getting here wasn't easy for the kid who grew up watching the Colts in suburban Indy and finished his college career at Notre Dame. Shrader spent each of the past two training camps in Indy and made his pro debut replacing the injured Gay in last season's opener. He spent the next five weeks on Indy's practice squad before he was released for the second and final time in mid-October.

He eventually landed with the New York Jets, where he made both of his field-goal attempts in his only game. The next stop was Kansas City, where he made the decisive field goal against Carolina before landing on injured reserve.

“With all the different situations I was in, the different coaching staffs, the buildings I was in, players that I was around, there's just so much you learn,” Shrader said. “I can say, like being around (Chiefs kicker) Harrison Butker, what I learned from was just the focus on trying to succeed every single day and figuring out ways to get better. It was my first year in league, I barely played in any games and he was asking me questions like ‘How do you kick like that?’ And I'm thinking why is Harrison Butker asking me anything about kicking?”

Whatever the lesson, it seemed to sink in and got the Colts attention.

So when they released Gay and brought back Shrader, Sanchez already knew what to expect.

“He brings the energy every day," Sanchez said. “Whether it's a good kick or a bad kick, he wants to find a way to get better, and he's just a great dude. He comes to work every day, tries to learn off everybody. He's pretty special.”

Shrader keeps proving it, too.

He made all five of his field-goal attempts last season and has started this season 9 for 9, including Sunday's 45-yarder to beat Denver with no time on the clock. He's also 5 for 5 on extra points and leads the league with 32 points.

And while Sanchez and Shrader know their streaks will end at some point. the Colts want to keep them intact as long as they can.

“I was talking with (long snapper) Luke (Rhodes) and Rigo earlier and we were reflecting on the game and the moment and the kick and everything. It was like, ‘Man, it kind of feels like a dream now,’" Shrader said. “I have no idea what’s coming. I just have to be prepared as much as I can — whether there is wind or no wind, rain or indoors or outdoors, it’s my job to go in and do my best to make kicks.”

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Indianapolis Colts long snapper Luke Rhodes (46) celebrates with place kicker Spencer Shrader (3) after Shrader 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/Michael Conroy)

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)

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)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Michelangelo’s “The Last Judgement” is getting a facial, with restorers removing a chalky white film of salt that has accumulated over the Renaissance masterpiece since its last major renovation three decades ago.

The Vatican on Saturday gave the media a sneak peak to the cleaning operation, which is taking place on a floor-to-ceiling scaffolding that has obscured the imposing fresco of heaven and hell that dominates the front of the chapel.

The cleaning operation is expected to be completed by Easter, in the first week of April. The public can continue to visit in the meantime, but will have to settle for a reproduction of “The Last Judgment” superimposed on a screen that covers the scaffolding.

Vatican Museum officials on Saturday described a simple but important cleaning operation to remove the white film of salt that has accumulated on the fresco thanks to the nearly 25,000 people who pass through the Vatican Museums each day.

“This salt is created because, above all, when we sweat, we emit lactic acid, and unfortunately lactic acid reacts with the calcium carbonate present on the wall,” said Fabio Moresi, in charge of the scientific research team at the Vatican Museums that is overseeing the cleaning.

Climate change also has a role to play, since the visitors who do come tend to sweat more, creating even more humidity that reacts with the fresco, he said.

Vatican Museums chief Barbara Jatta described the film as a “cataract” that is easy enough to remove: Restorers dip sheets of Japanese rice paper into distilled water and apply them to the fresco, and carefully wipe away the salt film.

Viewed up close on Saturday on the scaffolding, the difference between before and after is remarkable: Sections of the fresco that haven’t been cleaned look as if they are coated in a chalky dust; the cleaned sections show the vibrant colors and detail of the original. On the figure of Jesus, for example, at the center of the fresco, a privileged visitor can see how Michelangelo painted his hair and the wounds of his crucifixion.

The Sistine Chapel is named after Pope Sixtus IV, an art patron who oversaw the construction of the main papal chapel in the 15th century.

But it was a later pontiff, Pope Julius II, who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the famous ceiling, the “Creation of Adam” showing God’s outstretched hand, between 1508 and 1512. A later pontiff, Pope Clement VII, commissioned Michelangelo in 1533 to return to paint “The Last Judgment.”

The other frescos of the Sistine Chapel, where Pope Leo XIV was elected in May, undergo yearly cleaning with restorers working at night on cherry-pickers that can be removed each morning before the public arrives.

But such machines can’t access all of “The Last Judgement,” since the fresco is located behind the altar, which is itself raised up marble steps. That logistical impediment required the mounting of a fixed scaffolding to access the full fresco to clean it.

The Sistine Chapel underwent a complete restoration between 1979 and 1999, when centuries of smoke, grime and wax buildup was removed. The Vatican has left small patches of the pre-restored fresco intact to show the difference, which are now visible on the upper floors of the scaffolding and show a nearly blackened wall.

Rather than radically reduce the number of visitors who can access the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican is studying ways to address humidity levels, through filtration systems and other technologies, so that the salty film doesn't form again.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Journalists report in front of a screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,” superimposed on it that covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance, during the presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,” superimposed on it covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A man walks behind a screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,” superimposed on it that covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A woman walks behind a screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,”superimposed on it that covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,” superimposed on it covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

A screen with a replica of “The Last Judgment,” superimposed on it covers the scaffolding used for its extraordinary maintenance during a presentation for press in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)