Colts vs. Commanders Week 4: Jonathan Taylor Sips Tea, Scores Twice and Conquers London

Jonathan Taylor had tea with dinner the night before, so naturally he sipped from an imaginary cup in the end zone the next day. The Indianapolis Colts running back scored twice from 5 yards out, mixed in a royal wave for good measure, and the Colts beat the Washington Commanders 30-13 on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

It was not pretty, and it did not need to be. Indianapolis (2-2) won its second straight game while averaging 3.9 yards per play, because Washington (1-3) kept handing the script back. The Commanders lost Marcus Mariota to a knee injury on their second drive, went to a third-string rookie, committed 10 penalties and settled for field goals on both trips inside the red zone.

Two Field Goals and One Bad Knee

For a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff, the opening minutes had plenty of caffeine. On the Colts' first possession, Odafe Oweh drove left tackle Bernhard Raimann backward into Daniel Jones, forcing a fumble that Oweh recovered at the Indianapolis 21. Washington passed on a fourth-and-2 from the 13 and took Drew Stevens' 31-yard field goal.

The next Commanders drive was worse news disguised as progress. They went 70 yards in eight plays, but on third down from the Colts 5, Mariota was sacked at the 11 by Adetomiwa Adebawore and Laiatu Latu. Stevens hit from 29 for a 6-0 lead, and Mariota, who was starting in place of the injured Jayden Daniels, walked off gingerly and never returned. Coach Dan Quinn said it looks like an MCL injury.

Enter Athan Kaliakmanis, rookie, third on the depth chart, now running an NFL offense in a Premier League stadium. That is a Ted Lasso subplot nobody in Washington asked for.

The Fourth-and-1 That Flipped the Game

The Colts' offense spent most of the first half going nowhere, and when Rasul Douglas intercepted Jones in the second quarter, the momentum belonged to Washington. Then the Commanders faced fourth-and-1 near midfield, swapped receivers for tight ends late, and tried to catch Indianapolis napping. Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither called for a substitution, Jerry Tillery hustled on, and Tillery helped stuff Craig Reynolds for no gain.

"That was the momentum swinger in the game," Colts coach Shane Steichen said.

Indianapolis took over at the Washington 46 and went 46 yards in nine plays, finishing with Taylor's first 5-yard touchdown run for a 7-6 lead. Spencer Shrader banged a 48-yard field goal as the first half expired, and the Colts led 10-6.

Overseas JT Takes the Throne

The third quarter opened with another gift. Jaylon Carlies picked off Kaliakmanis at the Washington 27 and returned it to the 20. Taylor capped the four-play drive that followed with another 5-yard score for a 17-6 lead.

"I had to show the world, hey, I had a really good tea," Taylor said.

Taylor finished with 20 carries for 95 yards, 40 of them on the fourth-quarter drive that ended with Jones' 4-yard touchdown run, according to the Colts. The bigger number came from the team's record keepers: Taylor is now the NFL's all-time leading rusher in international games and has scored more touchdowns abroad than anyone in league history, with six in three overseas games, all Colts wins.

"I hope that I can continue to stack that, now that I'm apparently the leader," Taylor said.

Defensive tackle DeForest Buckner gave the moment its nickname. "I want to shout out Overseas JT," he said. "Hell of a guy, hell of a player. Glad he's on our team."

Shrader deserves a curtain call too. He went 3 for 3 on field goals from 48, 52 and 44 yards, plus three extra points, for 12 points.

The Touchdown That Wasn't

Kaliakmanis made it a game. On the drive after his interception, he hit Treylon Burks behind Sauce Gardner for a 47-yard touchdown, the first touchdown pass of his NFL career, and Washington trailed only 17-13.

"It was surreal, man, it was absolutely surreal," Kaliakmanis said, "but I've got to be honest, right now I'm just thinking about the loss. It's not about me. It's about this team."

Shrader's 52-yarder pushed the lead to 20-13, and then came the play that decided the day. Late in the third quarter, Kaliakmanis found Antonio Williams for an 87-yard touchdown that would have put Washington in position to tie it. An illegal shift flag erased it, the drive fizzled into a punt, and the Colts answered with the Jones touchdown run that made it 27-13 early in the fourth.

From there, Washington turned it over on downs twice more, and Shrader's 44-yarder closed the scoring.

The Stat Sheet Argues With Itself

• 317 to 257: Washington outgained Indianapolis and still lost by 17.
• 10 for 84 vs. 1 for 5: The penalty gap, which tells you who was disciplined on a long-haul road trip.
• 0 for 2: Washington's red zone touchdowns. The Colts went 3 for 3.
• 1 for 4: Washington on fourth down.
• 9th: The Colts said they became just the ninth team in the last 15 seasons to win by 17 or more points while averaging under four yards per play and holding the ball for over 30 minutes.

What It Means on Both Sides of the Atlantic

For Indianapolis, a 0-2 start is now a .500 record and a two-game winning streak. Jones still has work to do after turning it over twice, and he knew it.

"Can't afford to turn the ball over like that," Jones said. "Got to understand when to take a chance, when not to, when to protect the ball, when you have a chance to make a play."

The Colts also came home with injuries to receiver Ashton Dulin and defensive end Arden Key, both hamstrings, and they visit Pittsburgh next Sunday.

For Washington, the quarterback room has become a weekly crisis. Daniels went down with a dislocated left elbow in Week 2, Mariota threw three touchdown passes in a Week 3 win over Seattle, and now Quinn does not know how long Mariota will be out. Receiver Jaylin Lane also suffered what Quinn called a "serious ankle injury." The Commanders host the New York Giants next Sunday.

Tea Time Is Now a Tradition

Taylor chuckled when told about his international record. "They track a lot of stats these days," he said. They do, and for one Sunday in London, every one of them pointed at the man with the imaginary teacup. Somebody get the Colts' travel office a kettle for next time.

Stats from the official box score via ESPN. Quotes as reported by the Associated Press and Colts.com.