The Indianapolis Colts head into their bye week with plenty to work on after a gritty win over the Falcons, but one topic that won’t change, at least for now, is the kicking situation. Many expected Shane Steichen to use the week off to reassess Michael Badgley’s role after his shaky performance in Berlin. But the head coach made it clear he’s standing by his kicker.

“Not right now, no. We’ve got a lot of faith in Badge. Obviously, he kicked that game-tying field goal. Obviously, you’d want to have the other ones back. But that’s all part of football,” Shane Steichen remarked.

It was a rough day overseas for Badgley. After the Colts’ opening touchdown, he missed the extra point, then came up short on a 53-yard attempt in the second quarter. He finished 2-for-3 on field goals and 1-for-2 on extra points. The Colts still came out with a win, but Badgley sure gave the fans some doubts.

Through five games, Badgley is 7-for-8 on field goals and 15-for-17 on PATs. One bad day doesn’t define a kicker, and that seems to be Shane Steichen’s view. Just a week earlier, against the Steelers, Badgley was perfect, hitting both field goals and both extra points in the team’s 27–20 loss.

And to be fair, the Colts already did their due diligence earlier in the year. Five weeks ago, they held an open competition with eight kickers, ultimately settling on Badgley, the well-traveled veteran who’s suited up for five teams over seven seasons.

He’s built a career on steadiness from short and mid-range distances, though his numbers drop the deeper he goes: 40-for-51 from 40–49 yards and 7-for-16 from 50 and beyond.

It’s easy to understand why Steichen isn’t rushing into another change. Spencer Shrader, who impressed before his injury, set the bar really high. And when you pit Badgley against those standards, he is bound to look poor.

Michael Badgley should not be compared to Spencer Shrader

Let’s say it how it is. Michael Badgley isn’t Spencer Shrader, and it’s not really fair to hold him to that standard. You can’t compare a capable veteran backup to one of the best special teams players in the league.

The Colts made a bold decision last spring when they cut Matt Gay just two years into a four-year contract, handing the job to Spencer Shrader, a second-year kicker who quickly proved they were right to trust him.

Before his injury, Shrader was leading the NFL in scoring: 13-of-14 on field goals and a perfect 14-of-14 on extra points. His lone miss came from beyond 50 yards in a blowout win over the Titans. The league took notice, naming him Special Teams Player of the Month.

It was simply a continuation of what he showed late last season, when he hit every kick he attempted: 5-for-5 on field goals and 9-for-9 on PATs. It really did seem like the Colts had gotten everything they could possibly ask for in a kicker.

That’s why it was such a gut punch when Shrader went down in Week 5 against the Raiders. On what should’ve been a routine extra-point try, Tristin McCollum ran into him, and Shrader tore two ligaments in his kicking leg. Just like that, his season was over.

Now the job belongs to Badgley, at least for the rest of the year, unless things go completely off the rails. At 30, he’s a dependable stopgap, but expecting him to replicate what Shrader was doing is unrealistic.