Jonathan Taylor ran for two touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts pulled away in the fourth quarter to record a 30-13 victory over the undermanned Washington Commanders on Sunday in London.
Taylor scored on a pair of 5-yard runs, enabling Indianapolis (2-2) to overcome a quick 6-0 deficit. He finished with 95 yards on 20 carries as the Colts made the most of their 257 yards.
Quarterback Daniel Jones shrugged off a pair of early turnovers to complete 19 of 34 passes for 143 yards and an interception. He also added the clinching score by running 5 yards on 3rd-and-2 for a touchdown with 11:38 left in the game that made it a two-touchdown margin.
Washington (1-3) played most of the day with rookie Athan Kaliakmanis at quarterback after starter Marcus Mariota suffered a right knee injury in the first quarter and wasn’t able to return.
Kaliakmanis completed 15 of 33 passes for 186 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Mariota connected on 3 of 4 passes for 46 yards and rushed for 35 yards on one carry before departing.
The Commanders got off to a quick start, getting a strip-sack on Indianapolis’ second play and converting that into Drew Stevens’ 31-yard field goal just 2:03 into the game. Stevens made it 6-0 on a 29-yard field goal from Stevens with 6:21 left in the quarter.
That lead held until the Colts, who managed only 33 yards on their first four possessions, finally found traction. Taylor’s first touchdown run with 3:23 remaining in the half put them ahead for good and Spencer Shrader’s 48-yard field goal made it 10-6 at the break.
Taylor scored again at the 12:45 mark of the third quarter, four plays after Kaliakmanis tossed an interception. But Kaliakmanis responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass to Traylon Burks with 10:39 left in the period.
Shrader drilled a 52-yarder with 7:03 remaining for a 20-13 advantage. He added a 44-yarder with 5:48 on the clock to cap the scoring.
