Danny Dimes, Indiana Jones – call him what you want, but he’s the talk of the NFL.
Daniel Jones and the Indianapolis Colts are off to a perfect 2-0 start, but it’s not just that they’re undefeated. It’s that they’re making history along the way.
The Colts waxed the Miami Dolphins in Week 1, winning 33-8, then escaped a nail-biting Week 2 victory over the Denver Broncos, 29-28. But it’s what Jones and the offense have done that has stolen all the headlines.
Indianapolis has yet to line up for a punt this season. They are the first team in NFL history to start a year without having to punt through two games.
Not only that, but they also became the first team ever to score on their first 10 possessions of a season. They scored on all seven drives against the Dolphins and on their first three drives against the Broncos.
Through two games, Jones has thrown for 588 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. He has completed 71.4 percent of his passes and is averaging a league-leading 9.3 yards per attempt.
He has also rushed for 28 yards and three touchdowns.
What began as a highly contested training camp battle with Anthony Richardson — with Jones unsure if he’d even be QB1 — has now turned into a prime opportunity for him to lead Indianapolis on a run.
In an exclusive talkSPORT interview, ESPN’s NFL insider Dan Graziano revealed what went into the Colts pursuit of Jones.
“The Colts decided in the offseason that what they wanted to do is bring in someone to compete with Anthony Richardson,” Graziano said.
“In their ideal scenario, this would have pushed Anthony Richardson to the next stage of his development and he beats out the guy and wins the job.
“But that didn’t happen. And what they saw from Daniel Jones in the offseason was consistency on a level that Anthony Richardson has not provided at this point in his career.
The former first round pick has found new life on his new teamGetty Jones and Barkley played five seasons togetherGetty“Daniel Jones isn’t the athlete Anthony Richardson is, but he is a very athletic quarterback and can use his legs…We’ve seen him get out on the edge and use his legs, he did it in 2022 when he made the playoffs with the Giants, that big season that got him his second contract.
“It’s a similar situation, they had Saquon Barkley playing at a high level and right now Jonathan Taylor is playing at a very high level in Indianapolis. They have a good offensive line. They have some good receivers. The defense is better than you think.
“Is it sustainable? Look, they destroyed the Dolphins in Week 1. I think people are kind of of the mind that the Dolphins are not one of the better teams.
“But the Broncos are supposed to have the best or one of the best defenses in the entire NFL. And they didn’t punt against them either. So I think there’s reason to believe that this is sustainable.
“In terms of who deserves the credit, the GM Chris Ballard brings in Daniel Jones, the head coach Shane Steichen, who almost won the division two years ago with Gardner Minshew at quarterback, knows a thing or two about the position.
“I think he’s got it in a place where he is doing what good quarterback coaches do, which is find ways to maximize the player’s strengths and minimize the player’s weaknesses. And right now, Daniel Jones is playing at a very high level in a system that seems to suit him quite well.
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“I think if he stays healthy, there’s no reason this can’t continue. Health has consistently been the question with Daniel throughout his career, so you hope that doesn’t pop up again. But the way he’s playing, yeah, I think there’s something to it.
What are the Colts saying about ‘Indiana Jones’?
Head coach Shane Steichen couldn’t be more thrilled about Jones’ play to begin the year.
“I think the consistency that he brings, his preparation, and it’s coming to life on the field on Sundays. He works at it,” Steichen said in his Monday news conference.
“I think he’s doing a really nice job of going through his reads. If the first read is not there, he’s getting to his second, third reads. The offensive line is doing a hell of a job for him.
“He’s communicating well with the receivers throughout the week — different looks that could come up, route adjustments, all those different things throughout the course of a week of preparation. Then to see it happen on Sundays has been good, so we’ve got to continue that.”
However, to truly appreciate what Jones is doing for the Colts, one has to go back further than just the last two weeks.
Jones and Steichen have hit the ground running to begin the seasonGettyWhere did Daniel Jones go to school?
Jones started as a little-known high school quarterback in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he wasn’t even ranked as a prospect according to Rivals.com.
He originally committed to play football at Princeton University but decided to walk on at Duke University and become a Blue Devil.
It would be a life-changing decision as Jones ultimately became a three-year starter and was drafted in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft with the sixth overall pick by the New York Giants.
He was positioned to be the savior of a historic franchise that had fallen on hard times. Between Jones and Saquon Barkley, New York Giants football was supposed to be back in a big way.
Unfortunately for the G-Men, that fantasy never became reality.
In 2023 – having reached the Divisional Round of the playoffs in the previous season – it was time to pay either Jones or Barkley.
The Giants chose to give their quarterback a four-year, $160 million contract extension — leaving little else for their star running back who was placed under the franchise tag and walked a year later to the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Two thousand-plus rushing yards and a Super Bowl trophy later, the rest is history.
Jones flamed out in New York the following season, was benched for Tommy DeVito, and eventually requested his release. He was picked up by the Minnesota Vikings, where he learned under offensive guru Kevin O’Connell before ultimately signing with the Colts in free agency.
Jones and O’Connell have a good relationship with one anotherGettyHis brief stint in Minnesota appears to be paying major dividends, with Jones now leading the Colts to historical records early in the season.
And according to Steichen, they have no plans of slowing down anytime soon.
“I think when you start playing at a high level, obviously your confidence grows and builds, not with just Daniel, with any player,” Steichen said.
“And obviously, we want to continue that trend each and every week, and he’s been doing a hell of a job. So, we’ve got to continue that this week. The preparation is going to be a big part of it.”
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