Jonathan Taylor scores twice as Colts beat Commanders 30-13 in London

Jonathan Taylor scored twice as the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Washington Commanders 30-13 in London on October 4, 2026, during the NFL’s 19th year of fixtures in the UK. The Colts capitalised on Washington’s quarterback injury problems to secure the win.

"Welcome to the NFL’s home away from home," said former running back and in-stadium hype man Ronde Barber before the league’s 19th year holidaying in the UK began. Washington were already missing starting quarterback Jayden Daniels with an elbow injury and Marcus Mariota was forced out of the game with a knee problem after a strong start, leaving rookie third-stringer Athan Kaliakmanis, 23, to take over.

The game swung early when defensive tackle Odafe Oweh drove Bernhard Raimann into Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who fell backwards and coughed up the ball; Washington converted the turnover into three points with a 31-yard field goal from Drew Stevens after two plays. Jones finished 19 of 34 for 143 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception as he struggled under pressure from Washington’s front seven.

Jonathan Taylor provided the offensive backbone for Indianapolis, rushing for 95 yards and scoring twice either side of half-time. A 48-yard Spencer Shrader field goal put the Colts 17-6 at the break and Taylor’s second touchdown followed an interception at the start of the second half that had given Indianapolis a scoring opportunity.

Kaliakmanis injected a spark for Washington when he connected with Treylon Burks on a 47-yard touchdown, delivering an arcing pass just ahead of the sprinting receiver, who caught it in stride. The play briefly closed the gap to 17-13 and the rookie celebrated after providing his team a fleeting lift.

Alarm bells from the early fumble and the second-half interception were eased by Taylor’s ball security as Indianapolis adopted conservative play-calling and added another Shrader field goal. An apparent 80-yard Antonio Williams score that would have levelled the game was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty, and late in the contest two 12-yard rushes set up a play where a faked handoff to their linchpin allowed Jones to tuck the ball and run into the end zone.

Indianapolis leave London with a 2-2 record and what the report described as realistic ambitions of making the playoffs after the rockiest of starts. Washington will lick their wounds, hoping Daniels is back soon to revive their season.