It’s never ideal when a team must turn to its seventh-round rookie quarterback in a close game. The Washington Commanders found themselves in this position on Sunday; rookie quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis saw his first NFL action in London against the Indianapolis Colts.
Starting quarterback Marcus Mariota — in the lineup for the injured Jayden Daniels — injured his knee on the final play of Washington’s second drive. After a made field goal, the Commanders led 6-0. The defense was playing lights out at the moment, so Washington needed Kaliakmanis not to make a big mistake.
Indianapolis came after the rookie. He stood tall in the pocket, took big hits, and kept getting back up. Ultimately, he did make a big mistake, throwing his first career interception
that the Colts turned into points. Suddenly down double digits, how would Kaliakmanis respond? He threw his first career touchdown, a beautiful 47-yard deep ball to Treylon Burks to make it 17-13.
Suddenly, we had a ballgame.
Unfortunately, Washington’s defense couldn’t stop the Colts by this point. As for mistakes, the Commanders made them, including an 87-yard touchdown by Antonio Williams that was wiped out by an illegal shift penalty.
The mistakes, whether the Commanders made them or the officials, were eventually too much to overcome, as the Colts would eventually win 30-13.
Ultimately, those around Kaliakmanis made more mistakes than he did. After the game, he was asked about his response to Washington’s self-inflicted mistakes.
“Let’s go. Let’s go,” Kaliakmanis said. “Let’s keep getting after it. Let’s keep going, keep going, keep going. It doesn’t matter what’s thrown in front of us, what wall is in front of us. We’re going to keep getting after it. That’s who we are. It’s BMF. We’re going to keep going."
BMF is one of head coach Dan Quinn’s mottos, and it is NSFW. As for Kaliakmanis’ response, it was perfect. While some players say those things, he absolutely means them. He’s always happy. Always positive and upbeat. It’s part of why he’s already a popular teammate.
Mariota could be out for a while, but Jayden Daniels is expected back next week. So, for now, Kaliakmanis remains only one play away.
This article originally appeared on Commanders Wire: Athan Kaliakmanis has perfect response to Commanders' many mistakes
