KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Spencer Shrader shrugged off the pressure and delivered the Kansas City Chiefs’ second game-winning field goal as time expired this season.
Of course, Shrader, an undrafted rookie from Notre Dame by way of South Florida, didn’t kick the first one.
That was Harrison Butker delivering a 51-yard game-winner during a 26-25 win more than two months ago against Cincinnati, but the job Sunday fell to Shrader, who served as Kansas City’s kicker in place of an injured Butker for the second straight week.
“That’s a whole lot of pressure for a new guy, and he’s in here replacing for us right now a future Hall of Famer, so that’s not easy to do in these games,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
But Shrader's made it look fairly so far.
“The biggest emotion in that moment is gratitude — for the opportunity — and just happy that I was able to go out and perform for the team,” Shrader said.
A week ago, Shrader was only asked to kick extra points in Buffalo, but he had three field-goal tries Sunday at Carolina and connected all of them — 25- and 41-yard kicks in the first half and the game-winning 31-yard field goal to clinch a 30-27 victory.
“When you join an organization like the Chiefs, there’s a championship culture and there’s a standard to uphold,” Shrader said. “For me, I just wanted to come in and do my best for the team for as long as I’m here. ... I was grateful to be put in a situation today to step up and put a couple points up there, but that’s a team effort at the end of the day.”
Reid and Mahomes expressed unwavering confidence in Shrader.
“It was as close as you could get, which I liked because the percentages for any kicker go up,” Reid said. “But we have confidence in him; he has a big leg.”
Reid said earlier in the week that Shrader was Kansas City’s top-ranked kicker in the 2024 draft class, so he was an easy choice to step in for Butker, who will be sidelined for at least two more weeks. The Chiefs signed Shrader off the New York Jets’ practice squad.
“I’ve seen him do it in practice since he’s been here,” Mahomes said. “... We got him into his sweet spot and he nailed it right through there.”
Shrader didn’t watch as the game’s final drive unfolded, including Mahomes' career-long 33-yard scramble to get Kansas City in position for his game-winner, but he wasn’t surprised when his number — 40, in this case — was called.
“You know the talent of the guys on the team, you know who your quarterback is, you know who your offensive weapons are, so I knew that I’d be getting an opportunity,” Shrader said. “I just tried to stay calm and understand that it was going to come at some point.”
While Shrader wasn’t transfixed on the Chiefs’ offense snap by snap, he wasn’t completely tuned out either.
“I can feel what’s going on,” Shrader said. “You can feel the stadium getting excited, but you always try to stay calm and keep your emotions suppressed. I really try to simplify what I’m thinking about, so I’m thinking about my craft. ... I need to be aware. I don’t want to be like, ‘Oh, I’m up,’ then sprint out there. I’m definitely aware of what’s going on, but I try not to get too caught up in it.”
Counting his games with Indianapolis and the Jets, Shrader is now perfect on all 14 NFL kicks, going 9 for 9 on extra points and 5 for 5 on field goals, including two longer than 40 yards. He said he wasn’t worried about the distance as the Chiefs’ game at Carolina came to a close.
“My job is to kick it wherever they give it to me,” Shrader said. “Obviously, the shorter [the kick], the more confidence-inspiring, but at the end of the day, I don’t get to choose. I just go out there and kick it wherever they put it down.”
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