“Hey, save some of that champagne for the flight home,” might be the attitude of the Washington Commanders team this week as they head to London to meet the Indianapolis Colts in the third of nine 2026 National Football League International games.
Now, that is borrowing from a line David Letterman used in his Top Ten list the day after the Buffalo Bills lost their fourth straight Super Bowl … this one after leading at halftime. In what I hold as the funniest line from that long-running Letterman feature was when he asked what was said in the Bills locker room at halftime, “Hey, save some of that champagne for after the game.”
One can only surmise how giddy Dan Quinn’s team is today following last Sunday’s upset win over the defending Super Bowl Champions. Most saw the fact that Washington had to start their backup quarterback, Marcus Mariota, following the injury suffered by Jayden Daniels a detriment to the team. At the same time, the visiting Seattle Seahawks were getting back their Super Bowl winning starter, Sam Darnold, who was injured early in Seattle’s season opening victory over the New England Patriots.
Then they played the game.
The Seahawks thought their talent and the return of Darnold would be enough to carry the day. The Commanders saw the challenge of playing with their backup against the Super Bowl Champions. Talent favored the Seahawks, but the motivation heavily weighed in the home team’s favor and carried the day in Washington’s 33-31 win.
Now what?
This happy band of warriors will still be celebrating their surprise victory on their long flight to London for their battle against the Colts. Indianapolis is also coming off a win, a hard-fought home victory over the still winless and still talented Houston Texans.
I would say the shelf life for the Colts winning celebration will last about as long as it takes to get back to work in preparation for their upcoming game. The Colts had the best record in football through the first half of last season and then, exasperated by an injury to starting quarterback Daniel Jones, became the first team in history to win seven of their first eight games and end the season with a losing record, 8-9.
That collapse sent the Colts into this season with a renewed focus and motivation to succeed … which hadn’t yet come to fruition. The Colts got beat on their home field in their opener against the talented Baltimore Ravens and came up short in overtime in a second week of the season loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Those two losses perfectly positioned Shane Steichen’s team for last week’s contest against the hungry for a win Texans, and they got the victory in a close one, 19-17. They bounce off that win still looking for more and positioned to get win number two when they meet a Washington team ripe for being picked off.
The celebration by the Commanders for beating the Seahawks will carry into this week’s preparation, their flight to London, and into the second half of their loss across the pond. Even after this game, some Commanders will find solace thinking back to last week’s win to blot the disappointment of this week’s loss.
Enjoy the champagne while you can Commanders, because the flight home will not be nearly as joyous.
Qoxhi Picks: Indianapolis Colts (-3½) over Washington Commanders