Colts Head Coach Details Plan for Overseas Matchup Against Commanders

The Indianapolis Colts are fresh off their first win of the new season after they kicked off divisional play with a victory over the Houston Texans.

“Yeah, it's huge. A lot of confidence built. Obviously, a division win is huge at home in front of our home crowd is big moving forward. So, we got to continue that momentum, keep that going," Colts' head coach Shane Steichen said about their Week 3 victory.

"I think there's a will to win. I think everybody wants to win, but I think it's the will to prepare to win is very important for us moving forward.”

Indianapolis now plans for an international trip to London to take on the Washington Commanders, who also sport a 1-2 record after notching their first win in Week 3.

This is the second consecutive season that the Colts will play in London, and the third instance in the past four seasons with a regular-season matchup across the pond.

The Colts have established some confidence on both sides of the ball and now look to spark a win streak for the first time since early in the 2025 regular season, but head coach Shane Steichen knows it won't be easy.

Follow along as we cover Steichen and Co.'s plan for beating the Washington Commanders early on Sunday morning.

Gameplanning for Multiple Quarterbacks

Jayden Daniels Marcus Mariota — Sep 7, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) and Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) look on the field during the first quarter against the New York Giants at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Washington Commanders' face of the franchise, quarterback Jayden Daniels, has been out since he dislocated his left shoulder in the team's Week 2 loss against the Dallas Cowboys.

Longtime veteran quarterback Marcus Mariota filled the void for the Commanders in Week 3, and led Washington to its first victory of the season, handing the reigning Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks their first loss since the 2025 regular season.

Washington scored 33 points with Mariota at the helm, and the veteran quarterback proved to be more than just a viable backup in relief.

Mariota completed 19-31 passes for 183 passing yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, and was sacked twice against the Seahawks.

Jayden Daniels has chosen to rehab his injury as opposed to getting surgery, and will rock a bulky brace on his left arm for the remainder of the 2026 season as a result.

Daniels traveled with Washington ahead of their Week 4 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts and was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday.

The assumption is that Mariota will start for the second consecutive week, but the Commanders will continue to do everything in their power to get Daniels back onto the field.

As far as how the Colts will game plan for either scenario, head coach Shane Steichen explained that preparing for both quarterbacks is the best course of action, even if it means doubling the research.

“I think you go back and study those guys and what they do. I got a lot of respect for Jayden Daniels, if he does play. Obviously, he's done some good things already in this league. And also, Marcus Mariota, being a veteran guy. He goes out and performs. Obviously, had a big win against Seattle. Makes a lot of plays with his legs," Steichen explained about the challenge of preparing for multiple quarterbacks. "So, whoever's in, obviously, they both are mobile and can move around and make plays. So, we got to be great with our rush lanes. Be great with the coverage on the backend as well, whoever's playing.”

“Their coordinator I think is calling his fourth game. He's doing a hell of a job, by the way. And so, you kind of look back at who the players are, but then kind of what they've been running through the first three weeks, and just kind of see how they're going to use them. Obviously, Jayden (Daniels) played a couple games. Marcus (Mariota) played last week, and so we're going to have to adapt to whatever happens on Sunday.”

Operating as if Jayden Daniels could play could just be gamesmanship by the Commanders, but the Colts need to be prepared for the unexpected if they want to leave London with a win.

Whoever is throwing the ball for the Commanders will have a proven veteran duo in Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs at their disposal.

“He's explosive. He's been doing it at a high level for a long time," Steichen said about Commanders' veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs. "A ton of respect for him and what he's done in this league, and he's still making plays all over the field along with (Terry) McLaurin. Both those guys are explosive players, so we got to be all over it with those guys in general," Steichen said about the Commanders' starting wide receiver tandem.

It's a solid challenge to combat, but Shane Steichen believes that the Colts' cornerback trio of Sauce Gardner, Charvarius Ward Sr., and Justin Walley have what it takes to rise to the occasion.

"You’ve got to do a great job of knowing where those guys are at, knowing their route tree and what they're doing from a formation standpoint. But again, they're explosive players, so those guys will make plays because they're really good players. But you got to limit those plays as much as possible.”

The Colts have struggled against top-tier quarterbacks so far this season, so while neither Daniels nor Mariota poses the same level of threat that Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes does, they both have mobility that has proven to be a weakness of Lou Anarumo's defense.

Hold Onto The Ball

The Indianapolis Colts have largely been in a position to win throughout each of their three games thus far due to Daniel Jones's performance, but he's begun to look like the turnover-prone quarterback that ultimately couldn't get the job done in New York.

Although Jones looked way ahead of schedule from his late-season Achilles tear throughout the offseason, he still has some cobwebs to dust off.

“I think he's playing really good football. I think he's completing close to 70 percent," Steichen said about Daniel Jones's return to form thus far. "Obviously, we got to take care of the ball in the pocket, but he's been playing really good football and I think he's only going to develop to get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.”

Daniel Jones has produced just three passing touchdowns to his five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles lost) through Week 3 of the 2026 season, and Shane Steichen explained that cleaning up said mistakes is key moving forward.

"I think it's just holding onto the ball in the pocket is the biggest thing. We knew going into that game last week that [Houston's] pass rush is really good. We knew it was going to be tight in the pocket, but holding onto the ball is a big thing going forward."

Jones certainly has some things to clean up, but he'd benefit from his offensive line returning to form as well.

Daniel Jones has been pressured at the 4th-highest rate (42.6%) among all QBs through three weeks, and the 2nd-highest among QBs who have played all three games, according to Next Gen Stats.

Most recently, the Houston Texans pressured Jones on 46.3% of his dropbacks in Week 3, and this played a big part in the Colts' quarterback being sacked four times.

The Colts are in a similar situation this week, as the Commanders sport the fourth-highest blitz rate (42.2%) in the NFL through three weeks.

“Very multiple. A lot of pressures. They bring a lot of blitzes," Colts head coach Shane Steichen explained. "Obviously, the coordinator came from Minnesota. So, you look at that stuff. You look at what he's done so far in Washington, but very multiple in what they do.”

Head coach Shane Steichen recognized this trend, and now Daniel Jones will need to prove that he can handle the pressure by not turning the ball over.

The Colts found success throwing to wide receivers Josh Downs, Keenan Allen, and Laquon Treadwell across the middle of the field against the Texans, but not all matchups will present the same weakness.

Even though they did enough to beat the Texans with said trio of wideouts, Shane Steichen's Colts offense still needs a respectable deep threat to deploy with Alec Pierce (heel - IR) sidelined for the foreseeable future.

“Obviously, losing Alec (Pierce), for the time being, obviously hurts because he is a big play waiting to happen. And so, you’ve got to do a great job as coaches of trying to create those chunk plays as much as you possibly can schematically and making sure you're getting the right looks and getting advantageous looks to get those plays so you can create those," Steichen explained the challenge of not having a vertical threat like Alec Pierce available.

Indianapolis made veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton a healthy scratch after signing him ahead of the Colts' Week 3 matchup, as he still required some acclimation to Shane Steichen's Colts offense.

“Just acclimation with the offense," Steichen on what Darius Slayton needs to do to be activated for his Colts debut. "Continuing to develop in the offense and learning and growing in the offense, but he did some good things last week. He’s a veteran player, so we'll see how the week progresses this week.”

Surely enough time has passed for the Colts to feel comfortable dressing Darius Slayton on gamedays moving forward, because if not, Shane Steichen will need to be deep in his bag if Indianapolis wants to head back to the states with an even 2-2 record under their belt.

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