The Indianapolis Colts are some sort of lucky to have this version of Daniel Jones. Sure, he’s had moments of competence during his seven-year career, but nothing like this. Currently, Jones is ninth in the NFL among starting quarterbacks with a passer rating of 105.9. Some have even suggested that Jones is an early MVP candidate, which I guess this year anything is possible.
One of his new receivers isn’t as surprised by Jones’ success as many others. Michael Pittman, Jr. always thought he was pretty good.
“When he came in, obviously, there was a bunch of negative media,” Pittman said. “I always thought of Daniel as a good quarterback. He just wasn’t in a great system to help him succeed. But I always thought that he was super tough. He’s a tough guy, he used to take a lot of sacks. He used to stand in that pocket and deliver throws and stuff like that. I was excited for him.
“And then he got here, and he was nothing like what the media portrayed him out to be. And I just never could understand why Dan was over-hated where he was at prior. Because the way he showed up, he’s a great dude, a great teammate, he’s a guy that you love to be around inside the building and outside of the building. I never understood how that negative stuff found him when he was at his other spot.”
I kind of agree with Pittman. How can you accurately assess a quarterback who had a putrid offensive line, one star offensive player – who everyone knew was getting the ball every down – and absolutely no outside receiving weapons?
Shane Steichen thinks Daniel Jones got too much hate too
Colts head coach Shane Steichen claimed this week that he always held Jones in high regard. It does make you wonder what they’d have all said if Jones came in and stunk up the joint. It wouldn’t be “I always knew he was good!” I promise you that.
“It’s just the preparation that he puts in day in and day out,” Steichen said. “He’s making big-time throws getting us in and out of the right play. We can all feel it, so we take it one day at a time and we’ve got to keep doing it each and every week.
“I think he’s played well his whole career, to be honest. That’s me. When I watched the tape, when I went back and looked at it, I think he’s been a great player this whole time. To get him here and to see the success he’s having with the guys that we’ve got, it’s not a surprise to me right now at all.”
Daniel Jones is having an efficient year statistically
It’s easy to look at the Colts 6-1 record (soon to be 7-1 because they play the Tennessee Titans this week) and figure that the quarterback is playing well. And while Jones isn’t pulling a 1999 Kurt Warner, he’s been incredibly efficient and mistake-free.
Kevin Patra of NFL.com breaks down Jones’ season.
“Jones has a career-high 71.0 completion percentage in 2025, fifth-highest in the NFL,” Patra writes. “His 101 first downs are behind only Patrick Mahomes (110) and Justin Herbert (102) entering Week 8. Jones has generated six games with a 100-plus passer rating, tied for most in the NFL — he had just five such games over his last two seasons with the Giants.
“Jones is proving the type of quarterback he can be with good protection in an offense that fits his skill set. After getting beaten up in New York, he’s been sacked fewer times than any QB (6) in the NFL. His 2.7 sack percentage leads the NFL (9.6 sack percentage from 2022-24; 32nd among 36 qualified QBs).”
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