New Chiefs kicker Spencer Shrader gets his first big moment in walk-off fashion
Spencer Shrader’s 31-yard field goal on the final play of Sunday’s Week 12 NFL game allowed the Chiefs to escape the Carolina Panthers with a 30-27 victory.
Shrader would no doubt feel a sense of gratitude toward any team that had selected him to be their placekicker. But being a member of the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs adds a layer of joy to the moment.
“When you join an organization like the Chiefs, there’s a championship culture, and there’s a standard to uphold,” Sharder said. “I wanted to come in an do my best for the team as long as I’m here.”
That figures to be the length of Harrison Butker’s recovery time. Butker recently suffered a knee injury and Sunday marked the second game he’s missed. It is believed he will be out a total of three or four weeks.
So the Chiefs signed Shrader, who had kicked for the Colts and Jets this season, to fill in for Butker. In Shrader’s Chiefs debut at Buffalo last week, he booted three extra points but did not attempt a field goal.
Business picked up considerably this week. Shrader kicked field goals of 24 and 41 yards before nailing the 31-yard game-winner. He also kicked three extra points.
And now Shrader is part of the Chiefs’ heart-stopping season. Five of their 10 victories thus far have been captured on a game’s final snap. If you count last year’s Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers in overtime, it’s six of their last 11.
On Sunday, after Carolina rallied to tie the game 27-27 with 1 miute, 46 seconds remaining, Shrader knew he could soon hear his number called and went into prep mode.
The Chiefs have superstar Patrick Mahomes at quarterback and three timeouts to work with.
“You know the talent on this team, you know who the quarterback is and what the offensive weapons are,” Shrader said. “I knew I’d be getting an opportunity.”
Sure enough, a wily 33-yard scramble by Mahomes put the Chiefs at the Carolina 22, and a 10-yard completion to running back Kareem Hunt got them even closer.
“I tried to stay calm, knowing it was going to come at some point,” Shrader said. “When it did come, I was ready.”
But not by watching the action. Going through his routine on the sideline, Shrader said he gets a sense of what’s happening by the crowd’s reaction.
This one might have been a little confusing. The Chiefs were playing on the road, but their fans made it seem as if there was as much red as blue in the stands at sunny Bank of America Stadium.
Still, “you need to aware,” Shrader said. “I’m definitely aware of what’s going on but try not to get too caught up in it.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs got the ball in essentially extra-point range for Shrader, and the kick was perfect.
Moments like this are what Shrader had in mind when he signed with Kansas City.
“I wanted to be around an elite staff, elite group of players, people in support roles — everyone’s on top of things here,” he said. “I wanted to be part of that, see what it’s like to win at the highest level.”