The Colts had an immediate special-teams adjustment before kickoff after kicker Spencer Shrader apparently injured himself in pregame warmups and was announced as questionable to return with a groin injury.
That development left the Colts without their kicker to start the game, which is a notable problem for any team because it can affect kickoffs, field goals and extra-point plans right away.
Rigoberto Sanchez handles the kickoff
At the start of the game, Rigoberto Sanchez kicked off to open the game. That was the clearest sign of how the Colts had to respond after Shrader's status changed before the first whistle.
Sanchez is the Colts' punter, and the move underscores how quickly special teams can be affected by a pregame injury. It also matters because Sanchez has never attempted a field goal in his NFL career, so the Colts were working through a situation that could have required further adjustments if Shrader remained unavailable.
For now, the key takeaway is simple: the Colts entered the game with an unexpected kicking concern, and their special-teams setup changed before the opening kickoff.
