For many players, scheme fits matter. A player might do well somewhere and not elsewhere, and it's all because of how their approach and skill sets fit in the game plan. Daniel Jones might not have worked out exceedingly well with the New York Giants, but he has been brilliant so far for the Indianapolis Colts.
Perhaps Jones was always destined to be a great NFL quarterback, and he simply needed to meet Shane Steichen to unlock his best. The head coach and quarterback appear to be of one mind, and Jones already seems to assume what Steichen needs next.
Through eight games, Jones is trending toward setting career highs in quarterback rating, total QBR, touchdown passes, and completion percentage. But is his hot start to the season truly who he is or simply a product of his connection to Steichen and one that will fade in time?
Daniel Jones and Indianapolis Colts doubters will seemingly never go away
Nick Wright of First Things First doesn't believe in Jones at all, it seems. Speaking on the FS1 show, Wright said, "It's a fun show, but I know that's not real. And that's the idea that Daniel Jones is going to go through maybe Lamar (Jackson), certainly Josh (Allen), young star Drake Maye, and then end boss Patrick Mahomes to make the Super Bowl. So no, it's an amazing story, and very entertaining, high octane every weekend, but I do not believe that this is the best team in football."
.@getnickwright believes in Jonathan Taylor… but he doesn’t believe in the magic of Daniel Jones and the Colts 🎩🪄
“It’s a fun show, but I know that’s not real.” pic.twitter.com/LEk99CR8wS
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) October 27, 2025
Of course, Wright, like others of his ilk, gets paid good money to espouse whatever views enter their head. Those opinions do not have to be based on fact. Case in point, the Indianapolis Colts currently have the best record in the NFL at 7-1, and could easily be 8-0 except for two maddening mistakes by wide receiver Adonai Mitchell in Week 4.
Football great Bill Parcells used to say a team is what its record says it is. If that is true, then the Colts are currently the best team in the league. This Indy team has somehow made it close to .500 over the previous two seasons, even with terrible quarterback play. Daniel Jones has changed that.
Most likely, Nick Wright is critically wrong. Are the Colts the best team in football? The team indisputably is currently. Their record says so, plus the number of blowouts Indianapolis has delivered should be further proof.
But Jones, Steichen, and the rest of the Indianapolis Colts are used to the doubters at this point and keep winning. Making a deep run in the playoffs won't be believed by many, either, until it happens, but the way Indianapolis is playing, it looks like that run is likely.