Daniel Jones has had trouble holding onto the ball throughout his NFL career, and his head coach offered similar advice to that which the veteran quarterback has since he entered the league in 2019.
Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen offered some clear guidance for how the quarterback can protect the ball after Jones has turned the ball over seven times over their past two games.
The Colts (8-2) will have a bye week before taking on the Kansas City Chiefs (5-4) at Arrowhead Stadium in Week 12.
Daniel Jones Needs To Hold The Ball With Two Hands
Jones has lost four fumbles, and put the ball on the turf six times in Indy’s past two games, despite its 1-1 record against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in Berlin, Germany.
His struggles holding onto the ball have harkened memories to Jones’ early-career fumbling woes with the New York Giants. Jones lost 23 fumbles in his first two seasons with the Giants and had 22 interceptions, which was a main factor in his 8-18 record in those initial years.
Yet, Steichen publicly reminded Jones of his fundamentals.
“Just having two hands on the ball in the pocket moving forward is a big part of it for us,” Steichen said when asked about Jones’ recent turnover trouble. “He understands that.”
Yet, unlike his early-career turnover woes, Jones is still making huge plays in the passing game and leading the Colts to victory. He leads the NFL in passing yards (2,659), fourth in yards per pass (8.9) and is sixth in completion percentage (69.9%), with just seven interceptions in 10 starts.
“I still think he’s been playing great for us,” Steichen said. “On [Sunday] he did some really good things. There was that game-winning drive, hitting [tight end] Tyler [Warren]. He had some big-time plays, some big-time scramble plays in that game to keep the chains moving.
“I think there’s a lot of good there. We’ve just got to keep improving and getting better.”
Shane Steichen Admires Daniel Jones’ Toughness
Jones was a highly touted, top-10-drafted quarterback that went from Duke to the New York media market and replaced legendary QB Eli Manning. There’s no question he has thick skin.
But Jones’ toughness is rarely mentioned, even though he has been sacked, on average, 49 times and hit 64 times per 17 games over his seven-season career. His 21 sacks taken and 30 hits this season each is the fourth-most of any NFL quarterback, and he is on pace to take 51 hits, which would be the third-most of any single season in his career.
But Jones became turned into a meme after he was sacked in Berlin — one of the six times he was tackled behind the line — and his mouth was bleeding, in what looked like a gory scene. Playing through that endeared him with his head coach.
“I didn’t even notice it until after the game when people showed me [the picture],” Steichen said. “He didn’t say a word. He just kept playing, and that’s part of his toughness. That’s part of his grittiness, and he just keeps fighting.”
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