INDIANAPOLIS — Daniel Jones has been one of the NFL’s surprise stories this season, a revelation few people saw coming outside of the Colts’ team facilities.
Dismissed in New York and disregarded by most of the NFL, Jones wasn’t pursued as a definitive starter by any team, forcing him to choose between quarterback competitions in Indianapolis and Minnesota.
He’s proven just about everybody wrong so far.
Jones has fit perfectly in Shane Steichen’s offense in Indianapolis, riding his preparation, presnap reads, decision-making and accuracy to lead the NFL’s top scoring offense, carrying the Colts to a 5-1 start and the best record in the AFC.
All of a sudden, the national conversation has shifted to the possibility of Jones as a dark-horse MVP candidate.
What does that recognition mean to Jones?
“Not much after six weeks,” Jones said. “We’ve got a long way to go.”
Jones is still only 28, a player who is new to Indianapolis and feels like a quarterback on the rise.
But in temperament, Jones is an old soul, a veteran who spent six trying years being forged in the fires of New York. Few places test a quarterback like New York, particularly when the young guy is being asked to replace a figure as beloved as Eli Manning, the quarterback the last two times the Giants won the Super Bowl.
Under those floodlights and the microscope that comes with signing a four-year, $160 million extension, Jones was forced to come to grips with the pressures and realities of playing in the NFL. Half a year into his time in Indianapolis, Jones has been renowned as a professional who shows up at the crack of dawn, starts watching film by 6:30 a.m. and never stops working until it’s time to go to bed again, looking for any little tell or advantage in a defense.
“There’s no better guy to look up to, when it comes to how you operate, how you go about your day-to-day routine,” rookie Colts quarterback Riley Leonard said. “The dude’s dialed, and obviously it’s working on Sundays.”
Jones is undeniably playing at a Pro Bowl level.
The Indianapolis quarterback ranks second in the AFC in yards per attempt (8.3), third in completion percentage (.717) and third in passer rating (104.4) while rebuffing most of the concerns that followed him from New York, namely a tendency to take sacks and an inability to push the ball downfield. Jones has been sacked just five times, the best mark in the NFL, and while he’s not a classic deep-ball thrower, he ranks in the top 10 on explosive passes, completions of 20 yards or more.
“I think him under pressure, making the throws has been tremendous all season,” Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen said.
Nearly every step of the way, Jones has been asked if the way he’s playing brings a little personal satisfaction, a chance to say “I told you so” to everybody who doubted his ability to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Under new rules, Jones cannot be the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year — the award’s description was changed to emphasize players coming back from “illness, injury or other circumstances,” a change influenced by Joe Flacco’s win over Bills safety Damar Hamlin in 2023.
But Jones’ name is now suddenly in the MVP discussion, and although athletes often say they ignore all of the outside stuff, the reality is it can be hard to avoid.
“Bro, extremely,” Leonard said. “There are times, yeah, you go one or two weeks and you’re like, ‘Alright, I’m going to keep it humble,’ but the way he’s been playing, I think it takes so much mental power to stay as consistent as he has. I can only imagine how I would be in that situation, but I think he’s been in the league so long and has so much wisdom that he’s like, ‘Dude, we’ve got a lot of season left.’”
That’s one of the reasons Jones has been so successful this season.
When he meets with the media after games, Jones often highlights a mistake he made or a part of the game where the offense needs to get better, even though the Colts lead the league in scoring and rank in the top 10 in most statistical categories.
Jones has been in the league long enough, felt the rug come out from under him enough times to know that none of that stuff matters this early in the season.
Not even when his name is being thrown around in MVP talk.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Daniel Jones MVP: What the Colts quarterback said about being an MVP candidate