INDIANAPOLIS — So often we hear players and teams quickly push aside talk of any success they had the previous season. They’re almost allergic to it. It’s seen as complacency and a distraction to the current year’s objectives. Not for Daniel Jones, though. The Colts quarterback would rather remember the high level the Indianapolis offense played at early last season — a dominant unit leading the way to an 8-2 record. That, of course, was before a fractured fibula in late November slowed him down and a torn Achilles ended his season in early December. "It wouldn't be smart for us to completely disregard everything last year," Jones told me. And that’s not just a message to his 2026 Colts. It’s one for anyone who doubts the 2026 Colts. Through eight weeks in 2025, the Colts averaged a league-high 33.8 points per game, which for a full season would’ve ranked 15th in NFL history, according to FOX Sports Research. Through 10 weeks, Indianapolis led the league in yards, expected points added per play, success rate and DVOA before collapsing in the final seven weeks of the season. Why can’t they replicate their borderline historic offense from the start of last season? I think the Indianapolis offense could be just as good in 2026. It starts, of course, with Jones’ health. A torn Achilles is one of the most difficult injuries to come back from in the NFL. It can take players more than a season to get back to playing at peak efficiency. But the Daniel Jones I saw at Colts training camp didn’t look like he was coming off a major injury. He threw with precision during joint practice with the Atlanta Falcons. He looked fine dropping back and navigating a pass rush in the pocket. He ran or scrambled when he needed to — a critical ability for any quarterback, but especially for a mobile one like Jones. His true test won’t come until the regular season, from stacking full games together, but he has looked as good as you can possibly imagine eight months removed from a torn Achilles. "I think with any major rehab process, you're always kind of progressing and getting back and getting used to doing everything, building up the reps on it, building up just your conditioning level," Jones said last month. "I feel really good and there's nothing I don't feel good doing." With a healthy Jones, we should get to see a continued blossoming of his partnership with Colts coach Shane Steichen, the offensive playcaller. Last season, they’d meet constantly — late at night and on plane rides home from road games. When discussing opponents, they’d land on the same play call to beat certain coverages. Star running back Jonathan Taylor has said they’re wired the same. In November, I asked Colts backup quarterback Riley Leonard what it's like to watch Jones and Steichen in the meeting room together. "You hear a bunch of words you've never heard before," Leonard told me. "[Steichen will] be like ... 'Hey Dan, you remember in 2019 when the Jets were playing the Dolphins, and they ran this over route versus man and he converted?' … and he'll just be like, 'Oh yeah, they were running this.' It's just crazy. "They understand coverages and watch so much film to where it's like, 'Hey, versus Cover 3, when they do this and they bring this pressure, this guy's doing this. We can beat it with that,’" he continued. "They can just visualize that in their head. They got like photographic memories." Then on the field, the healthy version of Jones we’ve seen in Indianapolis has been a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. A big reason why, he says, is Steichen’s system. "[We] both want to be prepared for every situation," Jones told me. "Want to talk through things. Want to have answers when we need them in the game. Want it to be something that's discussed and planned and communicated. But I think we also both have the understanding that football is not a perfect game, and what's practical, what's realistic. What you're able to execute is part of the consideration too, and I think there's a healthy balance there. I've learned a lot from the way Shane sees the game." The 29-year-old QB has learned from what he’s endured the past several years, too. Jones never lived up to the expectations of being the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft, despite receiving a four-year, $160 million contract from the New York Giants in March 2023, months after helping the franchise win its first playoff game since Super Bowl XLVI in 2012. His time in East Rutherford came to an unceremonious end just over 20 months after signing the big contract, when he was benched and requested to be released. Jones spent the end of the ‘24 season with the Minnesota Vikings — first on the practice squad, then as the emergency QB3 — before signing a one-year, $14 million contract with the Colts as a free agent to compete with Anthony Richardson Sr., whom Jones beat out for the starting job last summer. Based on his hot start last season, Jones signed a two-year, $88 million extension with Indianapolis in March. He says he's grateful for the faith that the Colts have shown in him. "I think I've learned a lot and seen different ways to do it," Jones told me. "[It was] helpful to have the experience in Minnesota and see how they did things. Learn from Kevin [O’Connell], from Sam [Darnold], from all the great coaches there. And then coming here with kind of a fresh start. So I think you're constantly learning and growing, seeing different ways to do it, picking up things you can add to your game." He’s drawn from the criticism, too. "It's something I've had practice dealing with, you know?" Jones told me, cracking a smile. "Even just back to when I was drafted. So I think that's part of it in the NFL for a lot of people. I don't think I'm unique in that, and just something you learn to understand. And you got to do the job, prepare to play well. What really matters is the belief, the faith you have in your teammates and the people in the building and making sure we all have each other's backs." Heading into the 2026 season, the Colts’ faith in their offense is sky-high. After the mid-August signing of veteran wideout Keenan Allen, the NFL’s top third-down receiver last season, Steichen said the pass-catching cast around Jones could be "really special." Indianapolis’ leading receiver in three of the past five seasons, Michael Pittman Jr. was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers. But the Colts return one of the NFL’s top deep threats in Alec Pierce, who was activated last week after left ankle surgery in March. Second-year pro Tyler Warren is already one of the league’s top tight ends. Josh Downs is a standout at slot receiver. Then there’s Taylor, one of the best running backs in football. "The offense is very versatile," Jones told me. "A lot of different components to it. I think we're able to run the ball well. I think we're good in the RPO game. We're good throwing it quick. We can throw the ball down the field. I think we're versatile that way. "We're confident, yeah," he continued. "I think we're confident in what we can be as a group and what we're capable of. But we know that a lot of work went into that [start] last year. We've got to do the same thing this year." With a healthy Daniel Jones, they can.
