INDIANAPOLIS -- Don't be surprised if the Denver Broncos have a slight case of indigestion on Monday morning, but breakfast won't be the culprit.
Instead, the Broncos (1-1) will be dealing with the aftermath of their self-inflicted, fourth-quarter meltdown on Sunday afternoon, which turned what looked like a great escape in Lucas Oil Stadium into a disheartening 29-28 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on the game's final play. In the time it took for Colts kicker Spencer Shrader's 45-yard game-winner to sail between the uprights, the Broncos watched much of the goodwill from their season-opening win over the Tennessee Titans evaporate.
It was frustrating from the start, as the Broncos were outgained 473 yards to 324 and didn't force the Colts to punt -- not the performance that Denver's highly touted defense was expecting.
"Defensively we were s---, we weren't doing our jobs all day," edge rusher Nik Bonitto said.
Despite that, the Broncos were in position to win before a series of fourth-quarter mistakes cost them the opportunity to go 2-0 for the first time since 2021. In the final 11 minutes and 33 seconds, the Broncos threw an interception, missed a field goal and committed three costly penalties, the final being a personal foul leverage penalty on Schrader's first game-winning field goal attempt. That gave the Indianapolis kicker a second chance at the game-winner, which he converted.
"Obviously a disappointing loss," Broncos coach Sean Payton said. "We did a lot of things late in that game to keep us from winning. That will be painful to watch that film."
Denver entered the fourth quarter holding a 28-23 lead and moved the ball to the Indianapolis 28-yard line a little more than three minutes into the fourth quarter. That's when the mistakes started to occur.
On third-and-3, quarterback Bo Nix tried to squeeze a pass through a tight window into receiver Courtland Sutton despite the Colts devoting extra attention to the Broncos' leading receiver, who was held to one catch for 6 yards. The pass didn't make it through, with Indianapolis safety Cam Bynum snagging the ball instead at the Colts' 9. The Colts drove the ball 81 yards before kicking a field goal to close the gap to 28-26 with 8:33 left.
"It felt like it slipped away, got away from us," said Nix, who completed 22 of 30 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns along with the pick. "There were some errors at the end that cost us, starting with my turnover, and we kind of lost a little bit of our momentum. We played well for three quarters, but you've got to finish in the fourth."
It seemed like the Broncos were on track to do that on their next possession, steadily pushing the ball from their own 35-yard line to the Colts' 43. Running back J.K. Dobbins then busted out for a 23-yard run to the Colts' 20 with a little more than five minutes remaining. He celebrated the run by spiking the football and was flagged for a 5-yard delay of game.
"We got to be smarter, you can't spike the ball," Payton said. "We put ourselves in a position to control that game late and it slipped out of our hands."
The Broncos were backed up 15 yards on the following play after a facemask by tight end Adam Trautman, putting them in a first-and-25 situation at the Colts' 40 and derailing their attempt to burn clock and play keep away. Denver was able to get some yards back, setting up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Wil Lutz with 3:19 left.
Lutz hadn't missed a field goal attempt since Sept. 29, 2024, but his kick sliced and clanged off the right upright.
The Colts took the ensuing drive to the Broncos' 42-yard line, giving Shrader a 60-yard attempt to win the game. Shrader's first attempt was wide and short, but edge rusher Dondrea Tillman was given a personal foul by pushing Colts guard Dalton Tucker for leverage -- the third killer penalty in the final five minutes or so. Those flags were too much to overcome when combined with the interception and missed field goal, as Shrader calmly nailed the second attempt to move the Colts to 2-0.
For a Broncos team that has openly discussed its readiness for the NFL's biggest games in January and February, it was a painful end to an all-around disappointing day.
"We gave ourselves every chance to win the game and then we shot ourselves in the foot," Nix said. "Good teams bounce back from that; great teams don't do that, don't beat themselves."