Battle of the Backups: Colts send Commanders home from London with empty hands

This was billed as a London game between two 1-2 teams looking to climb back to .500. It became something else entirely: a battle of the backups, eventually won by the team whose backup quarterback was at least still the planned starter.

The Colts beat the Commanders 30-13, improving to 2-2 and sending Washington home at 1-3. The scoreline suggested a comfortable afternoon. The first half, and much of the third quarter, suggested anything but. Washington led 6-0, had forced two Indianapolis turnovers and looked capable of making the Colts pay for an offense that could not find separation. Then Marcus Mariota went down with a knee injury, Jayden Daniels remained unavailable with his elbow injury, and Washington was forced to hand the game to rookie Athan Kaliakmanis.

Washington turns to Kaliakmanis

That was the hinge. Kaliakmanis did some exciting things. He threw a beautiful 47-yard touchdown to Treylon Burks, later hit Dyami Brown for 48 yards, and finished 15 of 33 for 186 yards, a touchdown and an interception. But the rookie also took a third-down sack that pushed Washington out of field-goal range and could not consistently turn promising possessions into points. The Commanders had moved the ball for 317 yards, more than Indianapolis, but they were 2-for-15 on third down and went 0-for-2 in the red zone.

Washington had chances. It simply could not play clean football. The Commanders were penalized 10 times for 84 yards, compared with one five-yard flag for Indianapolis. The most painful example came when Kaliakmanis found Antonio Williams with what appeared to be an 87-yard touchdown that would have tied the game. Holding and an illegal shift erased it. A long return was also pulled back by a penalty. The Commanders were not merely beaten; they repeatedly removed their own best moments from the afternoon.

Jones survives a difficult start

Indianapolis, meanwhile, did what it had to do after Daniel Jones had done almost everything it could not afford in the opening half. On the second play of the game, Jones drifted into left tackle Bernhard Raimann as pressure arrived, failed to secure the ball and fumbled. Later, under pressure, he threw a poor interception to Rasul Douglas. Jones finished 19 of 34 for 143 yards, no passing touchdowns and a 53.9 rating. He also ran for the touchdown that finally broke Washington’s resistance.

Raimann deserves a word beyond the fumble. The Austrian left tackle was a teenage spectator at Wembley in 2013, when the idea of playing in an NFL game in London belonged to someone else. On Sunday he was back in the country as a starter, protecting a quarterback in a game that required the Colts to win without much help from their passing game. The early collision with Jones was ugly, but Raimann and the Indianapolis line settled down as the afternoon progressed. The Colts finished with 128 rushing yards, and the game was ultimately won in the places where the offensive line could create just enough room.

Taylor becomes the solution

Jonathan Taylor was the beneficiary and the solution. Washington arrived with the league’s reputation for defending the run, but the Colts gradually stopped asking Jones to rescue the offense. Taylor carried 20 times for 95 yards and two touchdowns, both from five yards. Seth McGowan added 31 yards on six carries. Taylor’s longest run was only 12 yards; this was not a highlight-reel demolition. It was the more valuable kind of performance for a team trying to learn how to win ugly: steady, physical and increasingly difficult to stop.

Spencer Shrader supplied the margin. He made all three of his field-goal attempts, from 48, 52 and 44 yards, and Indianapolis finished 3-for-3 in the red zone. The Colts did not produce a passing touchdown, but they did produce the points that Washington could not. The defense also came up with the plays that mattered: Jaylon Carlies intercepted Kaliakmanis, Justin Walley supplied a key sack, and the Commanders’ promising drives repeatedly stalled.

Colts still have concerns

There was still plenty for Indianapolis to worry about. Sauce Gardner surrendered a 47-yard touchdown to Burks and was beaten for the deep ball to Brown on the next Washington possession. The Colts’ pass rush was inconsistent, and Mariota had already shown how much more dangerous Washington looked with an experienced quarterback able to run. A better team than this depleted Commanders group would have punished those lapses.

London broadcast misses the mark

It was not the greatest game on television either. At least the viewers did not have to suffer through a Rich Eisen play-by-play. The indignity of forcing Hall of Famer and damn good analyst Kurt Warner to play straight man to booth clown Jason Kelce may not have been everyone’s cup of English tea. Kelce’s energy may work for some viewers, but this was a game that needed explanation more than performance art.

Indianapolis wins the Battle of the Backups

The Colts will take the win, the 2-2 record and a flight home with a chance to become relevant in the AFC. Washington will take the injury list, the penalty sheet and the uncomfortable knowledge that its best chance disappeared when its second-string quarterback was replaced by its third. That is why this became the Battle of the Backups. Indianapolis had the better one. More importantly, it had Jonathan Taylor, a reliable kicker and enough composure to turn an ugly afternoon into a useful victory.

Scoring summary

First quarter

12:57 — Commanders: Drew Stevens 31-yard field goal, 3-0.

6:21 — Commanders: Drew Stevens 29-yard field goal, 6-0.

Second quarter

3:23 — Colts: Jonathan Taylor 5-yard run (Spencer Shrader kick), 7-6.

0:00 — Colts: Spencer Shrader 48-yard field goal, 10-6.

Third quarter

12:45 — Colts: Jonathan Taylor 5-yard run (Shrader kick), 17-6.

10:39 — Commanders: Treylon Burks 47-yard pass from Athan Kaliakmanis (Drew Stevens kick), 17-13.

7:03 — Colts: Shrader 52-yard field goal, 20-13.

Fourth quarter

11:38 — Colts: Daniel Jones 4-yard run (Shrader kick), 27-13.

5:48 — Colts: Shrader 44-yard field goal, 30-13.