Colts’ Daniel Jones thriving in first season under Steichen, 3-0 start fuels early-season buzz

INDIANAPOLIS — Daniel Jones is thriving in his first season with the Colts, who moved to 3-0 after Sunday's 41-20 win over the Titans in Nashville. Jones completed 18 of 25 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown and added 27 rushing yards. The performance keeps Indianapolis among the league's early stories as it climbs atop the standings. "You've got a guy that's the signal-caller back there that studies his tail off, looks at tape all day every day, grinding, looking at different things, knowing the checks, understanding what we're trying to get done offensively, getting us in and out of the right plays," Steichen said after the game. "That stuff pays huge dividends in this league, because there's a lot going on. Obviously, this is one of the toughest positions in all of sports to play, and he's doing it right now as good as it gets." "He's just seeing it really well," Steichen followed up. "Getting us in and out of the right plays, delivering the ball with accuracy. He's playing freakin' really good right now." The Colts have punted just once this season — that is the fewest by any team in the first three games of a season since at least 1940. Jones, 28, signed a one-year, $14 million contract with the Colts this past offseason and beat out Anthony Richardson for the starting job. The Giants cut him midseason last year — he asked to be released — after they benched him and relegated him to fourth-string on the depth chart due to the injury guarantee in his contract, putting an end to his rocky five-plus years with the team that drafted him No. 6 in 2019. He spent the rest of last year with the Vikings, though he never saw any game action. The Giants, meanwhile, have started the season 0-3.

Through three games, Jones has completed 71.6 percent of his passes for 816 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions, while adding 55 rushing yards and three more scores on the ground. Entering Monday, his 111.7 passer rating ranked third in the NFL.

Jones’s performance has helped fuel a Colts offense that has shown balance and poise early in the season, with the quarterback taking a lead role in the operation. Steichen has repeatedly noted that Jones’s preparation and decision-making are a driving force behind the team’s efficiency, and the player himself has emphasized consistent execution whenever the ball is in his hands.

The Colts have built a surprising early-season story around Jones’s production, and Indianapolis will look to sustain the momentum as the calendar turns to October. The Giants, in contrast, sit at 0-3 and have faced questions about their own quarterback situation after parting ways with Jones in the previous season.