One of the most pleasant surprises in the opening week of the NFL season was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones.
In his first game as a starter since being released by the New York Giants last season, Jones threw for 272 yards and totalled three touchdowns as the Colts walloped the Miami Dolphins 33-8.
Jones’ performance got Colts fans excited. But it’s just one game, and Week 2 against the formidable Denver Broncos defense poses a much more difficult challenge.
But that’s not swaying CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell from declaring that Jones and a stingy Colts defense will lead Indianapolis to their first 2-0 start since 2009.
“It's one thing to do all that against a Miami Dolphins team with plenty of uncertainty. It would be another for Jones to do that again in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos, a team that leads the NFL with six sacks,” Podell said, boldly predicting Jones will have another stellar performance.
“Jones is going to ball out again and lead the Colts to a 2-0 start with an upset victory over the Broncos. Indianapolis will lean on Pro Bowl running back Jonathan Taylor early to set up the play-action pass for Jones and Co. He completed 8 of his 11 play-action throws for 121 yards (11 yards per pass attempt) in Week 1,” he said.
Should Jones be able to execute against the Denver defense, the Colts would be in excellent shape. The final piece of the puzzle would be to get some backing from their defense, a unit which also impressed against Miami.
Podell says the Broncos’ stagnant performance against the Tennessee Titans last week suggests a stronger defense could magnify those issues.
“Offensively, the Broncos appear quite beatable following quarterback Bo Nix's struggles in Denver's 20-12 Week 1 win against the Tennessee Titans,” he said. “Nix committed a career-high three turnovers (two interceptions and a lost fumble) while barely completing over 50% of his passes…Jones and Taylor will drive the Colts offense to enough success over Denver, and Nix's struggles will continue as Indianapolis topples Denver's domineering defense.”
If the Colts can get off to a 2-0 start, they would be set up well for the remainder of 2025. The last time Indy started 2-0 was 2009, when it reached the Super Bowl.