1. Daniel Jones played better than the Colts’ 16-point total might indicate.

Head coach Shane Steichen on Monday was asked what he’s looked at as to why the Colts’ offense has now scored 20 or fewer points in three of its last four games. His answer:

“I think first down efficiency,” Steichen said. “I think we’ve been pretty darn good on first down efficiency, but I think what really gnaws at me is the three-and-outs. Obviously, to start the game with two three-and-outs. Obviously, you want to create momentum early in the game. And to start with two three-and-outs there, we’ve got to be better there. That starts with myself. And then obviously, staying on the field on third downs and being efficient on first and second down is a big part of it – not putting yourself in those third-and-longs, those second-and-longs. So, being efficient on first down is a big part of it, and obviously the three-and-outs. We can’t have the three-and-outs.”

The Colts went three-and-out on six consecutive possessions between the final four of Week 12’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and the first two of Week 13’s loss to the Houston Texans. But it wasn’t necessarily because of a significant issue on first down: Quarterback Daniel Jones completed eight of nine pass attempts on first down for 95 yards with a touchdown; his lone incompletion was a check down on which running back Jonathan Taylor was tagged by Pro Football Focus with a drop.

Jones’ completions on first down went for two, 33, 19, 18, four, one, 12 (TD) and six yards. Only two of those put the Colts in difficult second down distances (the two- and one-yard completions), while four generated either a first down or a touchdown.

But Jones only had two dropbacks on second down with six or fewer yards to go; he completed both those attempts for 32 yards with a 19-yard touchdown to wide receiver Alec Pierce. And only one of Jones’ dropbacks on third down came with six or fewer yards to go – he took his lone sack of the game on a third-and-four in the first quarter, which was more of a coverage sack than an immediate win by the fearsome duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter.

The flip side: Six of Jones’ dropbacks came on third down with seven or more yards to go; he completed two of six passes for 44 yards, with those two completions coming in quick succession to wide receiver Josh Downs in the third quarter. His third-and-11 deep ball to Downs, on which Jones climbed the pocket and delivered a dime down the far sideline, was arguably his most impressive play of the game.

“Both of those were big time plays by both those guys,” Steichen said.

But two of Jones’ third down pass attempts were dropped – both by Downs, who spoke about those Monday, and more on them later. The other two incompletions came when Anderson delivered quick interior pressure on a third-and-seven late in the third quarter, and then on a tight-window throw to Downs that was broken up by Texans slot defender Jalen Pitre.

On third down, running back Jonathan Taylor carried three times and picked up one first down, which came on a third-and-one in the fourth quarter.

So that’s how the Colts got to three of 10 on third down – a few good plays by Houston’s defense and a few miscues by the offense. But Jones, across Sunday’s game, stood in the pocket knowing he was going to get pressured and delivered several fantastic throws, which even despite the final point total felt relatively encouraging after a second watch on Monday.

“I thought he was efficient throwing it,” Steichen said. “He had the two touchdown passes, over 100 passer rating. He made some tight-window throws, made some big-time throws. Obviously, stood in the pocket (and) took some shots. Overall, I thought he did some really good things.”