ColtsRoundtable gathered intel on this weekend's matchup from a Washington Commanders expert.
The Indianapolis Colts (1-2) are in London this weekend to face off against the Washington Commanders (1-2) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. ET on NFL Network.
Both teams are coming off their first wins of the season against reigning playoff teams: the Colts beat the Houston Texans, and the Commanders beat the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
This week, ColtsRoundtable and Ahmed Ghafir of CommandersRoundtable swapped questions to learn more about each side entering Sunday morning's matchup.
Here are the questions CR had about the Commanders:
Jake Arthur: With Jayden Daniels being out again, what does Marcus Mariota offer the Washington offense?
Ahmed Ghafir: Mariota offered a lot of stability at the position in the Week 3 win. A veteran who largely takes care of the ball, Mariota showed exactly that against an impressive Seahawks defense, but it was his legs that ended up sealing it. Washington has the skill players around Mariota to attack Indy’s defense, especially with tight end Chig Okonkwo back in the lineup. Mariota gives Washington a dependable vet and ideal stopgap behind Daniels.
JA: How's the rookie class looking so far? Sonny Styles is a frequent flyer on highlight reels.
AG: So far, so good. Styles drew unwarranted social media criticism from his limited preseason performances, but he’s helped put that to bed through three weeks after running through Saquon Barkley for his first sack, while being one of two Commanders honored in a weekly award after Week 3. Antonio Williams is dependable and was arguably the most impressive among the wide receivers in Week 1. Matt Gulbin offers interior offensive line versatility, while Kaytron Allen has rounded out the running back rotation. Undrafted free agent Drew Stevens has shown off his leg already with two 50-plus-yard makes.
JA: Who's a player or two who are highly important to what the Commanders want to do, but fly under the radar?
AG: I’ll go with the two players coming back from injury: Okonkwo and Frankie Luvu. Okonkwo adds an athletic receiving threat and is a primary weapon alongside Stefon Diggs and Terry McLaurin, though McLaurin showed up on Friday’s injury report due to a hamstring injury. Luvu may be the leader in the linebacker room, which took a hit with Leo Chenal sidelined for the season. Luvu wore the green dot through much of the offseason and adds versatility in the front seven.
JA: When you compare the Colts and Commanders, what are any areas where you give the Colts an advantage?
AG: Maybe Indy’s defensive line vs. Washington’s offensive line, though Washington’s reworked offensive line is coming off an encouraging showing against Seattle. Whether the interior line can live up to the task could be the difference on Sunday morning.
