This was an ugly opening for Daniel Jones in London, and there is no way to dress it up. The Colts quarterback had a pass batted down on the first play, then lost a fumble on the second, and Washington needed almost no invitation to cash in.
The Commanders took over at the 21-yard line after the turnover, a gift of field position that immediately tilted the game. Drew Stevens finished the job with a 31-yard field goal, and just two minutes into the contest Washington were in front 3-0.
A miserable start for Jones
For a quarterback, there are bad starts and then there are starts like this — the kind that hand the opposition momentum before the crowd has even settled. Daniel Jones in London was on the wrong side of that equation from the opening snap. On the Colts' first play, his pass was knocked down at the line of scrimmage. On the second, Odafe Oweh got to him, the ball came loose, and the Commanders were suddenly in business.
That is the sort of sequence that changes the mood of a game in a hurry. It does not require a long drive, a brilliant play, or any kind of sustained pressure. One moment of sloppiness is enough. Two plays in, the Colts had already turned a manageable start into a problem.
Washington did exactly what good teams do
The Commanders did not need to do anything fancy. They benefited from the turnover, moved into range, and let Drew Stevens finish the drive. That is the simple part, but it matters. Early points are never just early points; they are a warning sign for the other sideline. Washington had the field position, the composure, and the scoreboard edge before the game had properly taken shape.
This also fits the broader tension around Daniel Jones in a Colts shirt: the spotlight is never far away, and every early mistake gets magnified. Recent attention on Daniel Jones and the Colts has already been intense, whether in primetime discussions or matchup talk around his short-game impact. But in London, the conversation started in the worst possible way — with a sack, a fumble, and a free shot for the opponent.
For the Colts, the task now is obvious. Clean up the chaos, protect their quarterback, and stop gifting opponents short fields. Because if Daniel Jones is going to settle this game down, it will not happen after a beginning like that.
