Game recap

Colts @ Commanders

2026 Wk 4 · WAS 13, IND 30

Athan Kaliakmanis debuted in relief in London as Jonathan Taylor ran in two Colts touchdowns.

FanIQ Research · October 5, 2026 · 7 facts, every one from the play-by-play

Kaliakmanis threw 33 passes in his NFL debut, off the bench: the 10th relief debut of 30+ attempts since 1999

Rare

Marcus Mariota started for Washington and was hurt on a sack at the Indianapolis 11 with 7:05 left in the first quarter. Rookie Athan Kaliakmanis threw every Washington pass after that, his first in the NFL, and finished 15 of 33 for 186 yards with a 47-yard touchdown to Treylon Burks and an interception. Since 1999 only nine other quarterbacks have made their passing debut in relief and thrown 30 or more times in that game. The only other Washington passer on the list is Patrick Ramsey in 2002.

Passing debuts in relief with 30+ attempts, regular season, 1999-2026

Season	Week	Game	Team	Passer	Att
2002	5	WAS @ TEN	WAS	Patrick Ramsey	34
2004	2	SEA @ TB	TB	Chris Simms	32
2005	12	STL @ HOU	LA	Ryan Fitzpatrick	30
2012	10	DAL @ PHI	PHI	Nick Foles	31
2013	10	PHI @ GB	GB	Scott Tolzien	39
2017	6	SF @ WAS	SF	C.J. Beathard	36
2021	7	NYJ @ NE	NYJ	Mike White	32
2022	5	MIA @ NYJ	MIA	Skylar Thompson	33
2025	14	MIA @ NYJ	NYJ	Brady Cook	30
2026	4	IND @ WAS	WAS	Athan Kaliakmanis	33

Washington passers, 2026 regular season

Week	Passer	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
1	Jayden Daniels	18	34	164	2	0
2	Jayden Daniels	11	17	96	1	0
2	Marcus Mariota	11	16	111	1	0
3	Marcus Mariota	19	31	183	3	0
4	Marcus Mariota	3	4	46	0	0
4	Athan Kaliakmanis	15	33	186	1	1

Why it matters. A debut in relief usually means a handful of snaps to close out a decided game. Kaliakmanis got more than three quarters with the score close, which is why his attempt count lands him on a short list that has produced roughly one name every three seasons. He is also Washington's third passer to throw at least 15 times in a game in the first four weeks, after Jayden Daniels and Mariota, and the passing game showed it: Washington averaged -0.283 EPA per dropback after halftime.

Washington outgained Indianapolis by 57 yards, won the turnover battle, and lost by 17

Anomaly

Washington ran for and threw for 317 net yards to the Colts' 260, and committed one turnover to Indianapolis' two. It still lost 30-13. The yards that mattered came on short fields: the Colts' first touchdown drive started at the Washington 46 after a failed Washington fourth-and-1, and their second started at the Washington 20 after Jaylon Carlies' interception. Washington's own short field, Odafe Oweh's strip-sack recovery at the Indianapolis 21 on the Colts' second snap, produced a field goal. Since 1999 a team has lost by 17 or more while outgaining the winner by 50 or more yards 90 times in 1,883 such losses.

This game, both offenses (pass and run plays)

Team	Plays	Net yards	First downs	3rd down	4th down	Turnovers	EPA/play	Points
IND	64	260	17	6 of 15	1 of 1	2	-0.086	30
WAS	61	317	11	2 of 15	1 of 4	1	-0.250	13

Regular-season losses by 17+ points, 1999-2026

Losses by 17+	Loser outgained winner	Loser outgained winner by 50+	Share by 50+
1883	217	90	4.8%

Why it matters. Yardage tracks the winner most of the time, and turnovers even more so, so a team that leads both and still loses by three scores usually lost the field-position game. That is what happened here: two of Indianapolis' three touchdown drives started in Washington territory, both set up by Washington failures, while Washington's best starting spot, the Indianapolis 21, yielded three points. The 57-yard edge came on drives that stalled; Washington never ran a play inside the Indianapolis 25 after the first quarter.

Two conversions on 15 third downs: Washington joined a list that 61 offenses have reached since 1999

Rare

Washington faced 15 third downs and converted two. Indianapolis faced the same number and converted six. Across 4,008 regular-season team-games with 15 or more third-down plays since 1999, an offense has converted two or fewer 61 times, about one in 66. It happened twice in all of 2025. Washington was also 1 of 4 on fourth down, and the miss at its own 46 midway through the second quarter handed the Colts the field position for their first touchdown.

Offenses with 2 or fewer conversions on 15+ third downs, 2019-2026

Season	Week	Game	Team	3rd down	Team score
2019	2	NE @ MIA	MIA	2 of 15	0-43
2020	6	NYJ @ MIA	NYJ	2 of 17	0-24
2020	9	CHI @ TEN	CHI	2 of 15	17-24
2021	7	CAR @ NYG	CAR	2 of 15	3-25
2022	5	IND @ DEN	DEN	2 of 15	9-12
2023	1	CIN @ CLE	CIN	2 of 15	3-24
2023	7	WAS @ NYG	WAS	1 of 15	7-14
2023	8	NYJ @ NYG	NYG	2 of 19	10-13
2023	8	NYJ @ NYG	NYJ	2 of 15	13-10
2024	1	DAL @ CLE	CLE	2 of 15	17-33
2024	8	NO @ LAC	NO	2 of 17	8-26
2025	6	DEN @ NYJ	NYJ	2 of 15	11-13
2025	16	NYJ @ NO	NYJ	2 of 15	6-29
2026	3	MIN @ TB	MIN	2 of 16	23-16
2026	4	IND @ WAS	WAS	2 of 15	13-30

Third-down cohort, regular season 1999-2026

Team-games	With 15+ third downs	Converted 2 or fewer	In 2025
14052	4008	61	2

Why it matters. Fifteen third downs means an offense kept getting to the end of its drives without moving the chains on first or second down, and converting two of them means most of those drives ended in a punt or a field goal. Washington's success rate was 27.9% on pass and run plays, and its run game produced -0.347 EPA per carry after halftime, which left Kaliakmanis in long third downs against a defense that could sit on the pass. Of the 15 offenses on this list since 2019, only two won.

Jonathan Taylor's 75th rushing touchdown for the Colts, 11 clear of Edgerrin James

Milestone

Taylor scored from 5 yards in the second quarter and from 5 yards again on the first drive after halftime, finishing with 95 yards on 20 carries. That is his third two-touchdown game in four weeks this season and the 19th of his career, second only to Derrick Henry's 26 since Taylor's rookie year of 2020. It moved him to 75 regular-season rushing touchdowns for Indianapolis, the most of any Colt since 1999 and 11 more than Edgerrin James.

Colts regular-season rushing touchdowns, 1999-2026

Player	Seasons	Games	Rush yards	Rush TD
Jonathan Taylor	2020-2026	88	7951	75
Edgerrin James	1999-2005	96	9224	64
Joseph Addai	2006-2011	78	4453	39
Dominic Rhodes	2001-2010	89	2984	25
Marlon Mack	2017-2021	46	2484	20

Most games with 2+ rushing TDs, regular season 2020-2026

Player	Games
Derrick Henry	26
Jonathan Taylor	19
Josh Allen	17
Jalen Hurts	17
Josh Jacobs	15

Taylor, 2026 regular season

Week	Opponent	Carries	Rush yards	Rush TD
1	BAL	19	98	2
2	KC	24	92	2
3	HOU	23	68	0
4	WAS	20	95	2

Why it matters. Taylor has 11 more touchdowns than James in eight fewer games, which reflects how the Colts use him near the goal line: both touchdowns came on runs from the 5. In a game where Indianapolis' pass offense produced -0.544 EPA per dropback in the first half, his runs were the part of the offense that worked, at +0.373 EPA per carry before halftime and +0.211 after.

Washington led 6-0 nine minutes in; Indianapolis scored 30 of the last 37 points

Trend

Oweh's strip-sack on the Colts' second snap and a 35-yard Mariota completion to Jacory Croskey-Merritt gave Washington two drives inside the Indianapolis 25 in the first quarter, and both ended in Drew Stevens field goals. Indianapolis' win probability sat at 20.8% before a punt with 5:31 left in the first quarter. From there the Colts scored on six of their possessions: three Taylor and Daniel Jones touchdown runs and three Spencer Shrader field goals, from 48, 52, and 44 yards. Washington's only answer was Kaliakmanis' 47-yard touchdown to Burks.

Scoring plays

Qtr	Clock	Team	Play	Score after
1	13:01	WAS	Stevens 31-yd FG	WAS 3, IND 0
1	6:24	WAS	Stevens 29-yd FG	WAS 6, IND 0
2	3:29	IND	Taylor 5-yd TD run	IND 7, WAS 6
2	0:03	IND	Shrader 48-yd FG	IND 10, WAS 6
3	12:48	IND	Taylor 5-yd TD run	IND 17, WAS 6
3	10:47	WAS	Kaliakmanis 47-yd TD pass to Burks	IND 17, WAS 13
3	7:07	IND	Shrader 52-yd FG	IND 20, WAS 13
4	11:44	IND	Jones 4-yd TD run	IND 27, WAS 13
4	5:52	IND	Shrader 44-yd FG	IND 30, WAS 13

Why it matters. Washington's early lead came from field position rather than offense, and two field goals from inside the 25 left the door open. Once the field flipped, the Colts' offense did not need to be efficient, only patient: their game-long EPA per play was -0.086, yet they scored on six possessions after the first quarter, and Shrader made all three of his kicks, two of them from 48 yards or longer.

Indy's runs worked all game; after halftime it ran 16 times and dropped back 12

Split

In the first half the Colts dropped back 24 times for 72 yards at -0.544 EPA per play, including Jones' interception and the opening strip-sack, while their 12 runs gained 50 yards at +0.373. After halftime the mix flipped: 16 runs for 81 yards and 12 dropbacks. Washington's offense went the other way, from -0.196 EPA per play in the first half to -0.302 in the second, with its 9 second-half runs gaining 26 yards.

Indianapolis offense by half

Half	Type	Plays	Yards	EPA/play	Success rate
1st	Dropback	24	72	-0.544	25.0%
1st	Run	12	50	+0.373	58.3%
2nd	Dropback	12	57	-0.024	41.7%
2nd	Run	16	81	+0.211	56.3%

Washington offense by half

Half	Type	Plays	Yards	EPA/play	Success rate
1st	Dropback	17	73	-0.190	23.5%
1st	Run	13	74	-0.205	30.8%
2nd	Dropback	22	144	-0.283	31.8%
2nd	Run	9	26	-0.347	22.2%

Why it matters. The Colts' first-half split was lopsided enough to read from the sideline: runs succeeded on 58.3% of plays and dropbacks on 25.0%. Shifting to the run after the break both played to that strength and protected a lead, and the dropbacks that remained improved to -0.024 EPA. Washington, trailing, had to lean on Kaliakmanis, and 22 second-half dropbacks at -0.283 produced one touchdown.

Washington's worst offensive day of 2026 against the Colts' best defensive day

Comparison

Washington's -0.250 EPA per play was its lowest of the season by 0.17, and its 27.9% success rate was its lowest by nearly four points. For Indianapolis it continued a trend: the EPA per play its defense allowed has dropped every week, from +0.321 against Baltimore in Week 1 to -0.250 here, and its interception of Kaliakmanis was the defense's first of the season.

Washington offense by week, 2026 (pass and run plays)

Week	Opponent	Plays	EPA/play	Success rate
1	PHI	68	+0.060	42.6%
2	DAL	67	+0.069	50.7%
3	SEA	63	-0.080	31.7%
4	IND	61	-0.250	27.9%

Indianapolis defense by week, 2026 (opponent pass and run plays)

Week	Opponent	Plays	EPA/play allowed	Sacks	INT
1	BAL	60	+0.321	2	0
2	KC	78	+0.229	2	0
3	HOU	51	-0.092	3	0
4	WAS	61	-0.250	2	1

Why it matters. Washington's drop is easy to locate: its first three games had Jayden Daniels or Mariota for most of the snaps, and this one had a debuting rookie for everything after the first eight minutes. The Colts' trend is the more durable signal, because it spans four different opponents: the defense has allowed negative EPA per play in back-to-back weeks after two games of +0.229 or worse.

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