Daniel Jones makes you think of Daunte Culpepper, doesn't he?
Oh, he doesn't? Well they're linked in NFL history anyway.
Before Sunday, Culpepper was the only quarterback in league history to have two separate team debut starts include multiple rushing touchdowns.
After Jones ran for two TDs on Sunday for the Colts, he became the second, with the stat coming from Michael F. Florio.
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On Sunday in the Colts' win over the Dolphins, Jones ran seven times for 26 yards with two TDs while throwing for 272 yards and another touchdown.
In his first start for the Giants, on Sept. 22, 2019, Jones threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 28 yards and two more TDs. New York won that game in a wild final, 32-31, with Jones running in from 7 yards out with 1:16 to play to win on an Aldrick Rosas extra point.
Culpepper's first start for the Vikings came to open the 2000 season after a rookie season spent watching.
On Sept. 3, 2000, Culpepper threw for 190 yards, and he ran 13 times for 73 yards and three TDs. That was good enough for a 30-27 win over the Bears. Culpepper ran for all three TDs (1, 7, 4 yards) from the 5:24 mark of the third quarter onward.
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Culpepper also accomplished the feat in his first start with the Oakland Raiders in 2007.
It was Sept. 30, and Culpepper only completed 5-of-12 passes for 75 yards. But two of those throws went for touchdowns. And he also ran seven times for 28 yards and three more TDs. They beat the Dolphins, 35-17, and Jerry Porter caught both TDs. Ironically, those were the only three rushing touchdowns Culpepper had that entire season.
Do these things have anything in common? Not really.
But numbers are fun, and these are quite quirky. It's never a bad time to look back fondly on a great player from a past era, and stats like these help us do that.
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