When Spencer Shrader went down after taking a hard hit during a PAT in the second quarter, long snapper Luke Rhodes was the first man to kneel and take his helmet off as he stayed by his kicker. Punter Rigoberto Sanchez was among the next group of Colts players to rush to Shrader, giving the medical staff space while still making sure Shrader knew he had their support.
Shrader, whose kicking leg was run into on his follow-through on the kick (which was successful), stayed down on the turf for long enough for his entire team to go out on the field and surround him. The kicker eventually got up and walked off the field under his own power, but with a heavy limp.
Not long after, Shrader was ruled out of the game with a knee injury.
"It doesn't look good, but I don't have the full update," head coach Shane Steichen said after the game.
Shrader's injury was a somber moment in the Colts' dominant 40-6 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday, to the point where Rhodes said he didn't even know the final score of the game because he was so concerned about Shrader.
"I saw him at halftime, he's pretty shaken up," Rhodes said after the game. "Just hate to see it. He was kicking obviously really good, he's a really good kid in the locker room, works hard every day. Has the right mindset, and just hate it for him."
Just a few days before the game, Shrader earned AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the month of September as he made 13 field goals and 12 extra points to lead the NFL in made field goals and total points (51). Shrader quickly made a name for himself in the Colts locker room as a hard worker who always approaches the game the right way and who is always looking to improve.
He's especially close with Rhodes and Sanchez, as the three specialists on the team, and the veteran long snapper and punter both made sure Shrader knew they were going to support him through everything.
"I just prayed for him at halftime," Rhodes said. "(I told him) to continue the mindset that he had coming in, now with attacking recovery. and just getting back to it. He'll be okay. He's a tough kid, got a good head, he'll do what he needs to do to get healthy, and when he comes back it'll be great."
Following Shrader's injury, the Colts opted to try for two-point conversions on the four touchdowns they would go on to score. They were only able to convert on one, but Steichen said postgame he felt good about his decision to have the offense go for two, especially with the moving parts that a kick would have required.
If he had opted for a PAT (or a field goal), Steichen said Sanchez would become the kicker, Rhodes would be the holder and tight end Drew Ogletree would be the snapper. Sanchez took over kickoff return duties for the remainder of the game. The Colts do not currently have another kicker on their roster.
"It's hard to celebrate because we lost our guy," Rhodes said. "In the moment, you keep going. Now, we can reflect on it and just think about it for a day or two, and whoever we bring in, we'll just have to really get up to speed and continue the momentum that Spencer started."
