Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has had the best five consecutive games in his career to open the 2025 season with a 105.1 passer rating. (His previous best five-game stretch was 101.4 in October and November 2022.) What’s the secret?
He credited his time with the Minnesota Vikings on the Fitz & Whit podcast hosted by former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and offensive lineman Andrew Whitworth.
“I always thought I worked really hard and it was important to me to prepare, and I think I did that,” Jones said. “But going to Minnesota I saw how Sam (Darnold) prepared, (coach) Kevin (O’Connell) prepared those guys and how detailed they were. That made a big impression on me. This is maybe the next level of this stuff.
“(And) how aggressive Kevin was in the play calling, taking their chances.”
Jones signed with the Vikings after he was released by the New York Giants last season and didn’t throw a pass, then signed with the Colts over Minnesota as a free agent to compete with Anthony Richardson this offseason.
He’s certainly taken the aggressiveness to heart with the Colts under Shane Steichen as Jones never averaged better than 7.5 yards per attempt over a five-game stretch in his career prior to this season’s 8.6. It wasn’t just Jones’ time in Minnesota that positioned him for success this season, however:
“A lot of people have asked me about criticism, so many people said this and that,” Jones said. “(But) there were a lot of people who said I could do it, and a lot of those the people I respected the most. That meant a lot to me at the time.”
Jones also discussed his relationship with Steichen and many other topics, watch the entire episode here: Fitz & Whit podcast.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.