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Colts and Commanders try to build on Week 3 wins when they face each other in London

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Cite

Trister, N. (2026, October 2). Colts and Commanders try to build on Week 3 wins when they face each other in London. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/colts-and-commanders-try-to-build-on-week-3-wins-when-they-face-each-other-in-london/article_496b704f-19b7-5e50-b1a9-093754991604.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-10-02 · by Noah Trister

Quick Summary

The Indianapolis Colts and the Washington Commanders face each other in London on Sunday, with both teams looking to build on recent wins despite past challenges playing overseas. While the Colts are coming off a victory over the Texans but have struggled this season overall (1-2), the Commanders secured an impressive win against the Seahawks last weekend and now sit at 1-2 as well. Quarterback Jayden Daniels of the Commanders is recovering from injury, potentially allowing backup Marcus Mariota to start if Daniels cannot play, adding uncertainty for Washington's lineup.
Written by AI on 2026-10-02, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Marcus Mariota was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts in London due to a knee injury sustained early in the first quarter. The Washington Commanders, who were already without starting quarterback Jayden Daniels (due to an elbow dislocation), had to turn to rookie backup Athan Kaliakmanis for the remainder of the game. Mariota was initially injured when he got sacked by Colts defenders Adetomiwa Adebawore and Laiatu Latu, leading coach Dan Quinn to say they were "gutted" about his injury.

Before exiting, Mariota completed 3 passes for 46 yards and rushed for a gain of 35 yards. Kaliakmanis took over and was 6-for-12 with 33 passing yards in the first half as the Commanders trailed 10-6 at halftime. The rookie threw a critical 47-yard touchdown to Treylon Burks early in the third quarter, reducing the deficit to 17-13.

Terry McLaurin was also ruled out of the game for the Commanders because of a hamstring injury, further hampering Washington's chances against Indianapolis. The Colts' defense managed to keep the score close despite Kaliakmanis' efforts, reflecting the challenges faced by the Commanders in London without their primary quarterbacks.

Written for “Colts Vs Commanders In London” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 10 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Colts Vs Commanders In London
Sports · 11 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 3% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Guardian
Hedges 4 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 64/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 64/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 2 of 44 claims Outlet record 64/100
“Article A discusses the preparation and context of an upcoming game between the Colts and Commanders in London, while Article B focuses on a betting offer related to the same game but is not describing the specific event itself.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
30
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
3%
1 of 30 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
11
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-02 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11561 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Noah Trister
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Alex Ovechkin has just one goal in his first 13 games in what he’s said will be his final NHL season.
🔮 This team could have went a lot of ways the last two weeks, with all the craziness that they had to deal with,” Abdul-Rahim said.
🔮 Quarterback Malik Washington and running back DeJuan Williams both turned the ball over for Maryland, but they also had touchdown runs in the Terrapins’ first game under interim coach Aazaar Abdul-Rahim.
🔮 “Jared will take over everything to do with our internal players, our internal coaches.
🔮 “Going through the process one play at a time will result in the way we want it to go.”
🔮 But at the same time, you have to be healthy enough to play and that’s how we would really treat any player.”
🔮 Now the updates on Lamar Jackson’s status — vague as they may be — take on even more significance.
🔮 Malik Washington’s second touchdown pass of the game, a 10-yarder to DeJuan Williams, brought Maryland back within seven with 2:17 to play.
🔮 OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Lamar Jackson will miss a second straight game this weekend because of his ankle injury.
🔮 Ovechkin announced earlier in the week that this season would be the last in the NHL for the league’s career leader in goals.
Also by Noah Trister
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Noah Trister →

Topics

Colts Commanders Indianapolis London Washington

Subjects

Colts ORG · 11× London GPE · 9× Commanders ORG · 6× Washington GPE · 5× Daniels PERSON · 4× Indianapolis GPE · 4× Seattle ORG · 3× Atlanta GPE · 2× Indy ORG · 2× Texans NORP · 2×

Narrative

— Indy’s Keenan Allen needs two catches to tie former Colts star Reggie Wayne (1,070) for 11th on the career list. — The Commanders were the first 0-2 team to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 3 since 1980, when the Bengals beat the Steelers.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-02
🔮 The same could happen this year in London, but Daniels has been able to practice after missing last weekend’s win over Seattle because of a dislocated elbow.

Claims (30 extracted, 1 hedged)

Last November, the Indianapolis Colts went to Europe and came home with an 8-2 record. asserted
Colts → go → record
They’d beaten Atlanta in Berlin and seemed on a glide path to some sort of postseason berth. asserted
They → beat → berth
It turned out to be their last victory of the season. asserted
It → turn → season
Before too long, quarterback Daniel Jones was hurt, and the bottom fell out during a seven-game skid. asserted
bottom → hurt → skid
“I think we try to keep these guys on a normal schedule,” Colts coach Shane Steichen said earlier this week. asserted
Steichen → think → schedule
“So get the rest on the plane during the red-eye flight right there, and then we have a walkthrough Friday practice there. asserted
we → get → practice
Don’t want to get out on the field right away, going on a long trip like that, and run those guys — because I’ve been a part of that where guys have stepped on the field Friday and gotten hamstrings.” asserted
guys → want → hamstrings
Both teams should be familiar with the challenges of playing overseas. asserted
teams → play → challenges
Washington went to Spain last season and lost to Miami. asserted
Washington → go → Miami
Quarterback Jayden Daniels missed that game and was replaced by Marcus Mariota. asserted
Daniels → miss → Mariota
The same could happen this year in London, but Daniels has been able to practice after missing last weekend’s win over Seattle because of a dislocated elbow. uncertain
Daniels → happen → elbow
“Just taking it day by day,” he said Thursday, offering few hints about his likelihood of playing. Both teams should feel as if they can take advantage of this matchup. asserted
they → take → matchup
The Colts (1-2) had to open the season with games against Baltimore, Kansas City and Houston. asserted
Colts → have → Baltimore
They took the Chiefs to overtime and then beat the Texans. asserted
They → take → Texans
Only one of their next five games is at home, however, so this neutral site matchup feels pivotal. asserted
matchup → feel → home
Washington (1-2) appeared to be in a dire situation when Daniels went down in Week 2, but Mariota led the Commanders to a victory over Seattle in their home opener last weekend. asserted
Mariota → appear → opener
“Obviously Marcus means a lot. asserted
Marcus → mean → lot
Grew up, and he hates when I say this, but grew up a fan of Marcus, obviously at Oregon and in Tennessee and stuff like that,” Daniels said. asserted
Daniels → grow → that
“But just being around him, just the type of person he is and how much he shows that he cares about me and wants me to be at my best and anything I need, he’s really out there for me. asserted
he → show → me
Last week: Colts beat the Texans 19-17; Commanders beat the Seahawks 33-31. asserted
Commanders → beat → Texans
Last meeting: Commanders beat the Colts 17-16 on Oct. 30, 2022, in Indianapolis. asserted
Commanders → beat → Indianapolis
Series record: Colts lead 21-11. asserted
Colts → lead → ?
Taylor had one of the greatest international performances in league history last season, rushing for 244 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner in overtime, as Indianapolis beat Atlanta 31-25. asserted
Indianapolis → have → Atlanta
The Commanders did a solid job against the Seattle backfield last week. asserted
Commanders → do → backfield
Stats and stuff — If Jones and Mariota start, they’d become the seventh and eighth quarterbacks to start an international game in back-to-back seasons in different markets. asserted
they → start → markets
— The Colts have 15 penalties, tied for the fewest in the NFL so far. asserted
Colts → have → NFL
— Indianapolis has gone 30 consecutive games without a red zone giveaway, the longest active streak in the league. asserted
Indianapolis → go → league
— Indy’s Keenan Allen needs two catches to tie former Colts star Reggie Wayne (1,070) for 11th on the career list. — The Commanders were the first 0-2 team to defeat the defending Super Bowl champions in Week 3 since 1980, when the Bengals beat the Steelers. asserted
Bengals → need → Steelers
— Washington rookie linebacker Sonny Styles was the NFC defensive player of the week after he had five tackles, two passes defensed and an interception against Seattle. asserted
he → have → Seattle
He’s Washington’s first rookie LB to win the award since Brian Orakpo in Week 14 of 2009. asserted
He → ’ → 2009
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