When veteran backup quarterback Marcus Mariota left the Washington Commanders' Week 4 game against the Indianapolis Colts in the first quarter with a knee injury, rookie Athan Kaliakmanis was up. As expected, he had some jitters on his NFL regular-season debut.
The Commanders' scheme didn't have to change all that much when Mariota came in for Jayden Daniels. Offensive coordinator David Blough had to completely rethink his strategy when Kaliakmanis got the nod.
Even though the Commanders didn't do enough to win, Kaliakmanis still had some positives to take from the contest.
Commanders threw Athan Kaliakmanis into the fire, but he coped pretty well
Kaliakmanis looked like a deer in the headlights early on. Everything moved quickly for the signal-caller, and Washington's subpar offensive line did him no favors. His timing was off, and an interception made things look especially bleak.
The Commanders got themselves into a hole.
But strangely, this seemed to loosen Kaliakmanis up a little.
Blough gave him the freedom to push the football downfield. Kaliakmanis' first NFL touchdown was a beautiful deep throw to Treylon Burks, who beat All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner for the score. Things would have looked even better had Antonio Williams' long catch-and-run touchdown not been brought back for a penalty.
can we introduced you to the Baklava Bomber 💣
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 4, 2026
📺 #INDvsWAS @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/TIQjaWsIQX
That was the story of Washington's day.
Almost every time they made something happen, an infringement brought it back. The Colts played a much cleaner game, and that was the difference between the two clubs.
Athan Kaliakmanis kept swinging, but it wasn't enough for the Commanders
Even so, Kaliakmanis went down swinging.
He didn't make every throw, and some questionable officiating calls went against Dyami Brown and Stefon Diggs, but he never stopped trying. Kaliakmanis made mistakes — a lot of them, actually — but his ability to move on from one play to the next was impressive.
Mariota is now expected to miss time after aggravating the MCL injury that required surgery last year. The Commanders hope Daniels can start against the New York Giants in Week 5 after another full week of practice, but Washington may want to explore another veteran option in the coming days.
It's not ideal. But Kaliakmanis showed enough to possibly back up Daniels if the No. 2 pick in 2024 gets the all-clear.
He might not be ready yet, and Kaliakmanis acknowledged that he needs to improve. At the same time, he'll have gained a tremendous amount from this experience. And it was more regular-season reps than he expected this season.
The Commanders need Daniels back now. They need to salvage something from their season, and things are already teetering. Kaliakmanis will return to the sidelines, but the seventh-round pick out of Rutgers flashed enough in difficult circumstances to continue as a backup and development project.
But in terms of being a competent NFL starter long-term, there is a long way to go.
Athan Kaliakmanis' performance grade: B
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