Daniel Jones struggles in return vs. Ravens

Distressingly, this has become something of a standard statline for Jones, who is now sitting on a 5:9 TD:INT ratio through eight starts. That being said, Jones would have piled up more garbage time yards had he not been benched for most of the fourth quarter with the Colts getting annihilated. Jones’ first interception was a 91-yard pick-six, though the “interception” was really more of a Tyler Warren drop. The same was not true of Jones’ second pick, which was simply an awful third quarter throw where he never saw LB Branson Combs in coverage. There is nothing left to see of Jones under center for the tanking/rebuilding Colts, but the problem is, the same is true of backups Anthony Richardson and Riley Leonard. This is just a team that’s going to have to play out the string with things getting worse before they get better. That does not mean Jones will keep his starting job. It’s likely only a matter of time before Richardson gets one final look under center. That could come as early as Week 9 against the Cowboys.

Jones received a vote of confidence from Colts HC Shane Steichen earlier this week and now there’s a report from prominent NFL Insider Pelissero that the organization hasn’t discussed benching him. While that’s all well and good, the Colts still seem like they’re in the early stages of a process that will likely end with benching Jones at some point this year. The fact that Pelissero mentioned Jones’ contract includes a $10.51 million injury guarantee for 2027 is an ominous sign. Once the 2-5 Colts are officially eliminated from playoff contention, Indianapolis won’t have much incentive to risk injury with the oft-injured Jones.

Always a good sign for the quarterback when the coach has to defend his plan to keep starting said quarterback in back-to-back postgame availabilities. While we empathize with the Indianapolis media that clearly has seen enough of Jones, we’re not sure what exactly they think will go differently with Anthony Richardson — who spent his press availability on Sunday noting that he doesn’t “really regret a lot of things I do” after a citation for marijuana possession — under center. Richardson’s in the final year of his rookie contract. The Colts remain a mess after firing Chris Ballard. Jones probably won’t play this poorly next week against a non-Vikings defense, but it’s hard to deny that he’s playing poorly.

The Colts passing game struggled to get going against an elite Vikings defense. Jones crossed 100 passing yards on the Colts’ last possession of the game, finishing the drive off with a game-ending interception. He nearly threw a first quarter interception just off Vikings LB Blake Cashman’s hands and threw the ball into danger several other times. Jones was sacked four times and was ineffective as a runner against the Vikings’ pressure-inducing front-seven. Out of the Colts’ first 35 offensive plays, 16 had gone for zero or negative yardage. It was ultimately a poor passing day against a tough defense for Jones and the Colts. Jones is in the fantasy QB2 ranks against another tough defense in the Jaguars for Week 8.

Jones has yet to crack 270 yards or throw multiple touchdowns in a start. He’s also thrown six interceptions and is completing a career-worst 59.6 percent of his passes. It is not an uncommon observation to say that he is struggling to drive the ball on his throws. While the Colts are not going away from Jones now, that does not necessarily mean he will remain the starter all year if he continues to play like this. Given what the Vikings have been up to this year, we’d be surprised if Jones escaped the bottom five of quarterback fantasy points this week.

This one is going to leave a mark. The Colts led 13-0 at halftime but couldn’t get anything going after the break, where they committed two turnovers and Jones provided just 116 yards passing. His third quarter pick came only moments after a lost Jonathan Taylor fumble. It went right to Titans corner Cor’Dale Flott. Jones was not helped by some shaky hands from default No. 1 receiver Josh Downs, but he simply was not standing and delivering. Jones is really struggling to drive the ball this season, and he’s contributing far less than usual with his legs. In other words, he looks like a 29-year-old coming off a torn achilles’ tendon. There is little reason to expect things to get better in the near term, very much including Week 7 against Brian Flores’ ferocious Vikings defense.

A full practice today means Jones will play through the issue in Week 6, but it’s never a good sign to see a starting quarterback unexpectedly pop up on the injury report. Jones has also struggled mightily this year, so the last thing he needs is a lingering ankle issue, even if it’s a minor one. Needless to say, we aren’t itching to get Jones in our fantasy lineups in a low-scoring affair with the Titans. He is buried at the back of the QB2 ranks for Week 6.

The 267 yards aren’t a terrible total for Jones, but the Colts’ offense was not effective for most of the game. They were stuffed inside the Steelers’ three-yard line at least four times during the game, and the only touchdown they scored was on a one-yard sneak to tight end Tyler Warren. Even on that play, Warren was stuffed short of the end zone and had to be pushed in from behind. Jones was unable to connect with any receivers down the field and overthrew a few deep shots on the day. The Steelers spent a lot of energy trying to corral Jonathan Taylor, and you’d assume other defenses will deploy the same strategy, which means Jones is going to need to start to make them pay. Things should get easier next week against the winless Titans.

Jones was disastrously inaccurate in the first half, making even routine catches absurdly difficult for his banged-up receiver room. He also began the game by losing the football after his left tackle was pushed into him, resulting in a fumble. He eventually got the grain on the tracks with back-to-back scoring drives to close the first half. Daniels settled in after the break, though the Colts mostly leaned on Jonathan Taylor, who scored twice, to salt away the game. Jones is averaging a dismal 188.5 yards per game with just three scores to his name. He is barely in the QB2 mix for Indy’s Week 5 game versus the Steelers.

He added three fumbles, two of which were recovered by the Texans on Will Anderson Jr. strip sacks. It wasn’t pretty, and expectations should be held in check for the Colts passing game given the lack of relevant options, but Jones held on to help snap Indianapolis’ nine-game losing streak dating back to last season. His most impressive play was probably a middle-of-field ball to Laquon Treadwell that put the Colts in field-goal range for Spencer Shrader’s go-ahead kick with less than 30 seconds remaining. The Colts have a better matchup next week against the Commanders, but Jones would be tough to trust as more than a bottom-rung superflex QB2.