Colts Rock Commanders in London After Slow Start

It took the Indianapolis Colts (2-2) a while to settle in on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, but once they did, they took control of the game from the Washington Commanders (1-3) and never looked back.

Ultimately, the Colts won their second consecutive game, 30-13.

The Colts' first five drives of the game resulted in a lost fumble on their opening drive and an interception, with three punts in between. However, with just over three minutes left in the first half, the Colts got on the board with a five-yard touchdown by Jonathan Taylor and never relinquished the lead afterward.

Here's how things unfolded.

On the second play of the game, Commanders edge rusher Odafe Oweh bull-rushed Colts left tackle Bernhard Raimann into quarterback Daniel Jones, who was hit, lost his balance, and lost control of the ball. Oweh recovered the fumble at the Colts' 21-yard line.

Washington wasn't able to do much with the ensuing drive, going eight yards in four plays and getting a 31-yard field goal by Drew Stevens to go up 3-0 with 12:57 remaining in the first quarter.

The Colts went three-and-out on their next drive, then punted back to the Commanders. Quarterback Marcus Mariota drove the offense 70 yards in eight plays but was injured on 3rd-and-Goal when Colts defensive linemen Laiatu Latu and Adetomiwa Adebawore sacked him. Mariota was knocked from the game with a right knee injury and was replaced by undrafted rookie Athan Kaliakmanis. Stevens knocked in another field goal from 29 yards to go up 6-0 with 6:21 left in the first quarter.

The two teams then traded two punts each before Jones gifted Washington another possession, tossing a ball to the right side to receiver Ashton Dulin, but cornerback Rasul Douglas stayed in position the whole time, intercepted it, and returned it to the Commanders' 37-yard line.

The Commanders were unable to make anything happen with the ensuing drive, going four-and-out.

The Colts found a spark at this point, driving 46 yards in nine plays, including a 12-yard reception by tight end Tyler Warren and 23 rushing yards from Taylor and Seth McGowan to score another touchdown: a five-yard jaunt by Taylor. Colts kicker Spencer Shrader's extra point gave the Colts a 7-6 lead with 3:23 remaining in the first half.

Washington punted again after a five-play drive, giving the ball back to the Colts' offense at their own 19-yard line with 1:09 remaining.

Jones orchestrated a 51-yard drive in eight plays, as Shrader knocked in a 48-yard field goal to make it 10-6 going into the locker room at halftime.

On the opening drive of the second half, Kaliakmanis shuffled up the pocket and threw a ball to the right side, where Colts linebacker Jaylon Carlies batted it, intercepted it, and returned it to Washington's 20-yard line.

Four plays later, Taylor was in the end zone again for his second touchdown of the day, another five-yard run. Shrader's extra point extended the Colts' lead to 17-6 with 12:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Kaliakmanis and the Commanders' offense quickly caught fire next, as the rookie quarterback threw his first career touchdown pass. A hitch in the route by receiver Treylon Burks down the left sideline let him separate from cornerback Sauce Gardner as Gardner misjudged the throw, leading to a 47-yard touchdown. Stevens' extra point cut the Colts' lead to 17-13 with 10:39 remaining in the third quarter.

The Colts responded with a 52-yard field goal by Shrader to extend the lead to 20-13 with 7:03 left in the third quarter.

The teams exchanged three punts (two by Washington, one by Indy) before Jones ran a four-yard touchdown to the front-right pylon for the Colts. Shrader's extra point made it 27-13 with 11:38 left. Taylor had six carries for 40 yards on the drive.

Washington turned the ensuing possession over on downs, going 21 yards in seven plays, giving the ball back to Indy at the Washington 46-yard line with 8:10 remaining.

The Colts went 20 yards in five plays, getting Shrader back into a good range for a 44-yard field goal to extend the lead to 30-13 with 5:48 remaining.

Washington was unable to put any further points on the board, turning the ball over on downs with 1:53 remaining.

The Colts ran out the clock, winning their second game in a row and evening themselves at 2-2.