Week 4 – Indianapolis Colts at Washington Commanders

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October 5, 2026

By Noonefromtampa

First Quarter

Washington won the coin toss and deferred until the second half. Washington’s defense started strong with Javon Kinlaw batting down Daniel Jones‘ first pass attempt. Odafe Oweh drive the Colts offensive lineman back into Jones forcing a fumble which Oweh recovered. Washington was unable to get a first down deep in Colts’ territory and settled for a Drew Stevens 31-yard field goal to give the Commanders a 3-0 lead.

Washington’s defense stayed strong and forced a three and out on the Colts’ first drive.  On Washington’s next drive, Marcus Mariota kept the ball on an option play and ran for 35 yards. Jacory Croskey-Merritt caught a swing pass on 3rd down for 35 yards, putting Washington back in the red zone. However, Mariota got sacked and injured on the third down play with a knee injury. Stevens nailed the 29-yard field goal for a 6-0 lead.

The Colts could not get anything going on offense, with 2 incompletions and a short gain on third down. Percy Butler committed a penalty on the punt return making the Commanders start at their own 13-yard line.

Athan Kaliakmanis came into the game, completing two passes with Austin Ekeler running twice for 13 yards and a first down. However, the drive petered out and Tress Way punted the ball away.

The Colts picked up their first down of the game behind two Jonathan Taylor runs. The Colts then tried to throw the ball again on the next three plays but a heavy Washington pass rush left in a third and long which they did not convert. After the punt, Washington started at their own 15-yard line.

Second Quarter

Kaliakmanis was able to convert the first third and long with a completion to Stefon Diggs. The Colts then crowded the box trying to force Kaliakmanis to throw. The Colts brought the pressure, hitting Kaliakmanis hard twice in row to force a punt.

The Colts then had their best drive of the game to that point, gaining 17 yards before Jones threw an interception to Rasul Douglas. Washington failed to convert the fourth down run on somewhat dumb call.

The Colts drive was essentially ended after a short gain on third and long following a second down sack by Tim Settle and K’Lavon Chaisson. Amik Robertson was called for personal foul which extended the drive and led to a Taylor short touchdown run giving the Colts a 7-6 lead.

Washington was only able to pick up 23 yards before having to punt leaving too much time on the clock. Jones completed four straight passes for 47 yards before an incompletion with 15 seconds left. That led to a 48 yard field goal by Spencer Shrader giving the Colts a 10-6 lead.

Third Quarter

After the kickoff, Washington lost 2 yards running and were called for a false start, putting them in a third and 17, where Kaliakmanis threw an interception to Jaylon Carlies. Jones was able to convert the third and six with a throw to Laquon Treadwell down to the 5-yard line. Taylor was able to score from there and the Colts took a 17-6 lead.

Jaylin Lane was carted off the field with an ankle injury after the kickoff return to start the next Washington drive. Ekeler was able to catch an 11 yard completion and run for 7 yards. Croskey-Merritt picked up the first down with a 5 yard run. Washington went with a three tight end formation but threw deep to Treylon Burks for a 47  yard touchdown. Washington cut the lead to 17-13.

The Colts were able to move the ball 32 yards behind an 11 yard run by Taylor and a 13 yard tight end screen to Tyler Warren. Schrader kicked a 52 yard field goal after Washington stopped the drive on an excellent open field tackle by Fabian Moreau. The Colts led 20-13.

After a penalty on the kickoff, Kaliakmanis hit Dyami Brown for 48 yards. After gaining 1 yard, a sack on third down moved Washington out of field goal range.

After a 13 yard completion by Treadwell, Washington’s defense forced the Colts to punt. Antonio Williams broke a tackle and scored an 87 yard touchdown which was nullified by two Washington penalties. Kaliakmanis had to scramble for 8 yards on third and sixteen leading to another punt.

The Colts were able to pick up 10 yards and the first down to end the quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Taylor then ran three straight times for 30 yards. Then, after a Treadwell 7 yard reception, Jones ran 4 yards for the touchdown, to give the Colts a 27-13 lead.

Washington gained only 21 yards on their next drive before turning it over on downs. The Colts got a 44 yard field after picking up 20 yards on 4 plays. The Colts led 30-13.

The two teams played out the clock after that.

Thoughts

Game management is still an issue. One example is going for it on fourth down at midfield, which led to the Colts touchdown when they failed to convert, instead of pinning the Colts deep in their own territory. A second example was leaving too much time on the clock at the end of the first half, which enabled the Colts to add a field goal.

Are the Colts really that mistake free and the Commanders that mistake prone? Well yes, the Commanders do really make too many stupid penalty mistakes, but the calls were not evenly balanced which even the game announcers pointed out. There seemed to be a lot of penalties against the Colts that just were not called. Penalties cost Washington field position and a touchdown. NFL officiating is such that I would never gamble on an NFL game because you’re throwing money away based on what the refs decide to do.

Was Matt Gulbin a good call to start over Nick Allegretti? The Colts consistently got pressure against him. He did have a few nice plays in the game but Allegretti may have done a better job overall as hard as that is to fathom.

Washington opened the game with two red zone opportunities and come away with only two field goals. David Blough had some questionable calls that resulted in negative plays in the red zone which you cannot do.

Washington’s defense started out strong but faded as the game went on, likely because they spent too much time on the field. With the Colts defense stacking the box, Washington was forced to throw more often than they probably wanted with a rookie quarterback at the helm.

Athan Kaliakmanis wasn’t completely horrible but wasn’t outstanding either. He looked like a low round, rookie quarterback at times. Overthrown balls, delay of game penalties, missed blitz pickups and broken plays are all signs of a less polished player. The good news is that he didn’t let his mistakes get in his head and get worse as the game went on. Will he turn into another Kurt Warner? Probably not, but he could develop into a good backup very soon, especially if he get extended playing time this season.

Fans wanted one thing this year, a much shorter injury list. That is out the window also this season. The team is getting hit hard by injuries, but the upside is the injuries are all over different position groups not just concentrated in one or two like last season.

The season focus is still on surviving the hard early schedule, getting healthy and making a run later in the season if it means something.

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