INDIANAPOLIS — For nine straight games, something always went wrong for the Indianapolis Colts. On Sunday, with the clock bleeding out and a groin injury threatening to end his day before it started, kicker Spencer Shrader made sure nothing did.

Shrader drilled a 53-yard field goal with 16 seconds remaining to lift the Colts past the Houston Texans 19-17, snapping the NFL's longest active losing streak at nine games, according to the Associated Press. It was Indianapolis' first win since last November and its first on American soil since October 2025. Shrader had hurt his groin in pregame warmups, but went 4-for-4 on field goals anyway — from 39, 58, 37 and finally 53 yards, per ESPN.

A Win That Looked Nothing Like One

Nobody would call it pretty. Quarterback Daniel Jones went 24 of 36 for 235 yards and a touchdown but coughed the ball up three times, losing two — one of which set up a Houston go-ahead score. Jonathan Taylor ground out just 68 yards on 23 carries. And the Colts defense, which had allowed more than 500 yards in each of its first two games, let Houston march right back in front, 17-16, with 1:48 left on a Woody Marks touchdown run, per CBS Sports.

Jones answered anyway, finding Laquon Treadwell for 20 yards to set up Shrader's winner. Receiver Keenan Allen also made history on the day, hauling in his first touchdown catch as a Colt and passing Hall of Famer Andre Johnson for 12th on the NFL's all-time receptions list with 1,068 catches.

Houston's day ended with C.J. Stroud's final heave sailing wide of the end zone as time expired. Stroud finished 16 of 27 for 167 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans limped to 0-3 with only 223 total yards of offense.

"It's awesome, obviously, to get that victory. To get that win against a division opponent is huge for our football team." — Colts coach Shane Steichen

The relief inside the Colts' locker room had been nine games in the making. Indianapolis' skid stretched back to a seven-game, playoff-costing collapse to end last season, compounded by two more losses to open this one — tying it for the longest active streak anywhere in the league.

Shrader, who has become an unlikely folk hero in Indy, credited the injury for oddly steadying his leg. "I felt like today was one of my best days with how I was striking the ball," he said, per the AP. "I kind of wonder whether ... sometimes if you slow down a little bit, you actually end up getting a better result because you're smoother."

The afternoon also delivered an unscripted moment of comedy: referee Ronald Torbert was caught on a hot mic barking at his own crew, "You guys better get your (expletive) together," after a kickoff-fumble call was overturned — drawing laughs throughout Lucas Oil Stadium.

What's Next

Steichen wasted no time looking ahead. "Now we've got to go to London and try to get that done over there, too," he said. The Colts (1-2) travel overseas to face Washington next Sunday, while the reeling Texans (0-3) return home to host in-state rival Dallas as Stroud pushes to keep his team's season from unraveling further. Full stats are available via ESPN's NFL scoreboard.