{"id":149573,"date":"2025-09-17T10:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T10:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/149573\/"},"modified":"2025-09-17T10:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-17T10:57:09","slug":"daniel-jones-led-offense-spearheads-colts-2-0-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/149573\/","title":{"rendered":"Daniel Jones-led offense spearheads Colts’ 2-0 start"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Stephen HolderSep 17, 2025, 08:00 PM<\/p>\n

Close<\/a>Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.<\/p>\n

INDIANAPOLIS — Of all the surprises unfolding around the NFL through the first two weeks of the season, it would be hard-pressed to find one more unexpected than what’s transpiring in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n

That’s where quarterback Daniel Jones<\/a> and the Colts<\/a>‘ offense are off to a sizzling start, giving the scoreboard operator a workout and leaving their punter twiddling his thumbs.<\/p>\n

The Colts scored on each of their first 10 possessions of the season, a streak that extended into the first half of their Week 2 win over the Denver Broncos<\/a> on Sunday. They also are yet to punt, with the extent of punter Rigoberto Sanchez<\/a>‘s playing time coming while performing his duties as the holder on field goals. The Colts lead the NFL in yards per play (6.5), are fourth in points per game (31.0) and second in offensive expected points added (23.6).<\/p>\n

So, how have the Colts gone from a middling offense in 2024 to perhaps the hottest offense in the NFL this season?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

The Jones gamble is paying off<\/p>\n

No quarterback in the NFL is throwing for more yards per attempt through two games than Jones (9.3). It’s a great representation of just how different his play has been in 2025 compared with a majority of his six seasons with the New York Giants<\/a>. Jones’ previous career high in yards per attempt was 6.8 in 2022.<\/p>\n

Jones’ QBR to date also provides a contrast. Through two weeks, he ranks sixth leaguewide at 80.8. That is remarkably higher than any previous season for Jones, with his career-best mark coming in 2022 at 62.9.<\/p>\n

Not bad for a guy whom the Giants benched and later released midway through last season. Jones reluctantly admits he was aware of what people were thinking before his hot start.<\/p>\n

Best of NFL Nation<\/p>\n

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“You know what people are saying, and you know what the narrative is in a lot of situations,” he said. “So, yeah, a little bit [of satisfaction]. But I think I’ve realized — and I think I said this last week — I’ve played a few years now, and one game, two games, don’t make a season.”<\/p>\n

Still, it’s worth asking: What’s going on here?<\/p>\n

For one, confidence seems to be a factor. Don’t believe it? Just watch how Jones ripped tight-window throws to his receivers against the Denver Broncos<\/a>‘ Defensive Player of the Year Pat Surtain II<\/a> on Sunday. Maybe it’s the change of scenery or perhaps it’s the much-improved pass protection in Indianapolis. Whatever the case, Jones is standing tall in the pocket and taking more chances than he did in New York.<\/p>\n

And it’s paying off. Jones has averaged 8.2 air yards per attempt so far, perhaps dispelling the notion that he won’t make the aggressive throws necessary for an offense to be explosive. On Sunday, Jones had deep throws that resulted in a 44-yard completion to Alec Pierce<\/a> and a 41-yard gain for Tyler Warren<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“I think when you start playing at a high level, obviously, your confidence grows and builds,” coach Shane Steichen said.<\/p>\n

Give Steichen credit, too. He was right about Jones and made the difficult call to start him over Anthony Richardson Sr<\/a>. That choice has been validated.<\/p>\n

Daniel Jones has passed for 588 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in the Colts’ 2-0 start.\u00a0Michael Hickey\/Getty ImagesVersatile playmakers<\/p>\n

The Colts’ skill personnel has arguably been underrated, but the players are having quite the impact this season.<\/p>\n

The Colts are spreading the ball around liberally, with seven different players making receptions in Week 1 and eight in Week 2.<\/p>\n

Within that group, they have a diverse set of targets. Receivers Michael Pittman Jr<\/a>. and Josh Downs<\/a> have been dangerous in the middle of the field, per usual. But defenses also must account for Pierce and Adonai Mitchell<\/a> outside the numbers and down the field.<\/p>\n

Then there’s Warren, who is in a category of his own at tight end. He is doing it all, whether catching screens, working the middle or consistently stretching the field with deeper routes. The uniqueness of a tight end capable of hurting the defense at all three levels has been a challenge that defenses will probably continue to struggle with. Warren leads all tight ends with 155 receiving yards.<\/p>\n

The Colts are throwing the ball impressively, but Taylor in many ways remains the heartbeat of this offense. And with the 2021 rushing leader coming off a healthy offseason, the Colts are getting the best version of him in 2025.<\/p>\n

That was evident in Week 2 when Taylor had one of the most complete games of his career. He became the first Colts player to have at least 150 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in a single game since Marshall Faulk did it in 1998.<\/p>\n

The receiving angle is key. The Colts have quietly been planning to involve Taylor in their passing game more this season, and that showed up on Sunday. Taylor had become less of a threat as a receiver in 2023-24, catching just 18 passes in 14 games last season. And rarely were any of those passes called specifically for Taylor (most were checkdown throws). Against Denver, Jones connected with Taylor on a wheel route where he was the first option, and Taylor turned it into a 43-yard gain.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Taylor totaled 215 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s win over Denver.\u00a0AJ Mast\/Associated PressTurnover margin<\/p>\n

This is football 101, but it’s an undeniable factor here: The Colts are winning the turnover battle, and it’s making life easier for them. Indianapolis has a league-best plus-4 turnover margin after not committing a turnover through two games.<\/p>\n

That includes Jones, who hasn’t thrown any interceptions. Safety Camryn Bynum<\/a>, one of the Colts’ big free-agent acquisitions, has an interception in each of the first two games.<\/p>\n

The offensive line has answered the bell<\/p>\n

The Colts had open spots on the offensive line after veteran center Ryan Kelly<\/a> and guard Will Fries<\/a> departed in free agency. Center Tanor Bortolini<\/a> started five games last season, so there was reason to believe in him. But throw in the move of Matt Goncalves<\/a> from right tackle to right guard, and that’s a fair amount of upheaval.<\/p>\n

But the unit has started fast, helping Jones avoid sacks and weathering a fierce Denver pass rush that confronted Jones with the highest blitz rate of his career (26 of his 38 dropbacks, 68%).<\/p>\n

“The offensive line,” Steichen said, “is doing a hell of a job.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stephen HolderSep 17, 2025, 08:00 PM CloseStephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149574,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[64,63,593,85],"class_list":["post-149573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}