LONDON — There are only so many injuries a team can incur at football’s most important position. In their 30-13 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, the Washington Commanders ran out of experienced quarterbacks.
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In just four games, the Commanders (1-3) have turned to three players under center. They were already without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels because of a dislocated left elbow. Although Daniels returned to practice Wednesday, just 10 days after suffering the injury, he was ruled out Friday. That set up Marcus Mariota, who led Washington to an upset of the Seattle Seahawks last weekend, to start his second consecutive game.
Mariota’s appearance would be short-lived, however, as he suffered a right knee injury while being sacked midway through the first quarter at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He was ruled out for the rest of the contest against the Colts (2-2) at halftime.
Stepping in for Mariota, rookie Athan Kaliakmanis made his NFL debut. Washington was leading 6-0 when Mariota got injured, but it would fall behind by halftime and never lead again.
Without Mariota, the Commanders’ offense was largely inept. Kaliakmanis completed 15 of 33 passes for 186 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Not only was Washington held scoreless across Kaliakmanis’s first five drives, but it managed just three first downs.
“There’s already things stuck in my mind from this game,” Kaliakmanis said. “I told my coaches: ‘I’m never making that mistake again. Never.’ It’s burned in my memory now. … I think some of those times it cost us, and that falls on me as the quarterback. That stuff stings, but I got to learn from it.”
The drought ended when wide receiver Treylon Burks shed Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner on a double move and hauled in a deep shot from Kaliakmanis for a 47-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That cut Indianapolis’s lead to 17-13.
Following a Colts field goal, Kaliakmanis uncorked another pretty pass to wide receiver Dyami Brown for 48 yards. Washington would come up scoreless, though, after it failed to pick up a blitz and Kaliakmanis was sacked out of field goal range.
The Commanders nearly tied the game on their next drive, but the offense committed two penalties that negated what would’ve been an 87-yard catch and run by wide receiver Antonio Williams. Indianapolis promptly made the Commanders pay with a nine-play, 52-yard touchdown drive — capped by quarterback Daniel Jones’s four-yard run — that put Washington down double digits for good.
“We say the same thing every week: ‘We got to fix it,’” left tackle Brandon Coleman said. “But it’s just [nonsense]. … At the end of the day, it’s on us as an offense.”
Coach Dan Quinn said Mariota injured the same MCL he sprained in his right knee Aug. 14. Although Mariota went on to miss the rest of the preseason, he was healthy by Week 1. He’ll get an MRI once the team returns from London.
Kaliakmanis, 23, made the roster after beating out veteran Sam Hartman for the third-string quarterback job. Washington drafted Kaliakmanis in the seventh round in April after he finished a five-year college career split between Minnesota and Rutgers.
“I thought he also showed a lot of confidence and some fearlessness,” Quinn said. “He made some of the throws to highlight why he is where he is. As far as the full team, I didn’t think we did enough around him.”
For the second straight week, the Commanders’ defense got off to an excellent start. On the second play of the game, outside linebacker Odafe Oweh pushed Indianapolis left tackle Bernhard Raimann back into Jones, which caused the quarterback to slip and lose the ball. Oweh recovered the fumble to give Washington possession deep in Indianapolis territory.
After the Commanders took an early lead on a field goal, their defense forced another quick stop on a three-and-out. That was when a lineup change from defensive coordinator Daronte Jones showed up: Cornerback Mike Sainristil was benched.
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Amik Robertson started at outside cornerback alongside Rasul Douglas, but Robertson moved inside whenever Washington used its nickel package. In that formation, Fabian Moreau replaced Robertson on the outside.
The switch-up in the secondary rendered results for the Commanders’ pass defense. Daniel Jones completed just 56 percent of his passes for 143 yards and threw a brutal interception to Douglas.
Of course, it helped that Washington’s pass rush got after Indianapolis’s offensive line. It registered two sacks and six quarterback hits while generating plenty of pressure.
“I am pleased,” Quinn said when asked about the defensive progress. “In the early stages, we had had some miscommunications that resulted in big plays. To see that process taking place to improve upon [that], I think that points to the players to say, ‘This is where we can level up.’”
The defense’s biggest blemish: It allowed Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor to rush for 95 yards and two touchdowns. But 17 of the Colts’ points came on drives that started with the ball near midfield or in Washington territory, so the defense played better than the final score indicated.
“We lost, so it wasn’t good enough,” Douglas said. “You know what I mean? That’s how we look at it.”
The defense’s efforts were wasted because the offense fell apart. Losing Mariota was the backbreaker, but there were other issues.
Washington made a lineup change in an attempt to assist its shorthanded offensive line. After shifting Nick Allegretti from center to right guard to fill in for Sam Cosmi (concussion) against the Seahawks, the Commanders stuck with Lucas Patrick at center Sunday. But in a surprise move, the Commanders benched Allegretti and started rookie Matt Gulbin at right guard in Cosmi’s place.
Quinn said the decision was made partly because Allegretti was limited in practice with a hip injury this week. Asked if Allegretti would be benched moving forward, he responded: “No, I don’t see it that way.”
That adjustment didn’t do much for the Commanders’ offensive line, which struggled mightily at both run blocking and protecting Kaliakmanis.
“We knew that’s what they’re going to do: They’re going to dial him up,” Gulbin said. “We’ve got to do a better job of communicating and protecting.”
The pass catchers were solid without wide receiver Terry McLaurin, who was inactive after suffering a hamstring injury in practice Friday. But offensive coordinator David Blough’s unit was plagued by costly procedural miscues and penalties for the second week in a row. That, combined with poor blocking and a lackluster run game, doomed Kaliakmanis and the offense.
The Commanders will return to Northwest Stadium to host the New York Giants next Sunday. Quinn said he expects Daniels to be a full practice participant throughout the week, which puts him on track to start.
“That’s the goal for Jayden: To throw a full-on week.” Quinn said. “This week, it’ll be the plan for him to do all the reps.”
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