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Colts' Shane Steichen Hitting Easy Button for Daniel Jones

Indianapolis Colts play-caller Shane Steichen has optimized this offense for Daniel Jones.
Zach Hicks|
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) spins the ball on his fingers Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, ahead of the game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) spins the ball on his fingers Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, ahead of the game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts made the move to veteran quarterback Daniel Jones this offseason in an effort to put all chips in on winning this season. It has only been two weeks, but the risk has paid off in a big way.

The Colts are currently the best offense in the NFL, despite coming off a game against one of the best defenses in the league from a year ago.

Jones is a veteran quarterback who desperately needed a change of scenery this offseason. The once top 10 selection had a decent run with the New York Giants, but his tenure soured in recent seasons.

He was released last year after being benched, and now, less than a year later, he is leading one of the best offenses in the NFL to a 2-0 start.

The complete turnaround is a major credit to every piece of the Colts' offense. Shane Steichen has crafted an offense that fits Jones' talents.

The running game has been fantastic, the offensive line has held strong, and the playmakers have made countless opportunities count. Jones, to give credit where it is due, has looked confident and in command of the offense since day one.

So, what changed for Jones this season? Did he simply need a change of scenery, or is Steichen doing something to maximize the veteran quarterback? I would say that the answer is a little bit of both.

Jones clearly needed a new situation, but Steichen's use of pre-snap motion (or the easy button, as I like to call it) has made life so much more comfortable for Jones in 2025.

The Value of Pre-Snap Motion

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (white and blue uniform) runs with the football.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) rushes for a first down Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, during a game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Colts aren't reinventing the wheel here by using pre-snap motion at a high rate. This has been a common staple of Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan offenses for a long time, so this reliance on motion isn't new to the Colts.

The rate at which the Colts are calling it is a bit unique, however. Through two weeks, the Colts have utilized motion on nearly 61% of their pass plays with Jones (compared to just 37.8% with Anthony Richardson Sr. last season, for example).

Pre-snap motion creates several advantages for an offense, such as creating leverage for the pass catcher on specific routes and causing confusion for defenses that want to shift pre- and post-snap, but my main focus here is how the Colts use it as an identifier for the quarterback.

With all the negatives that piled up for Jones in recent seasons, every coach that has ever worked with him has agreed that he's a smart player who understands the game.

This is vital for how the Colts have used pre-snap motion. Think of it as Steichen giving Jones a way to find a cheat sheet prior to every play and Jones applying that to answer questions correctly.

Jones still has to properly diagnose what is in front of him and deliver passes, but the entire operation moves simply due to the motion prior to the snap.

This third-down conversion to Josh Downs is a great example of the advantage motion is giving the Colts. Downs starts out wide and motions into a trips look to the left of Jones.

Once the Denver Broncos' cornerback moves with Downs, Jones is able to diagnose the man coverage call. From there, it's a simple pitch and catch between Jones and Downs for the first down.

Jones knows that a cornerback has no chance of covering Downs from this alignment in man, so he's able to get the ball out quickly for the conversion with relative ease. Jones still deserves credit for how he processed this play pre-snap, but the motion creates an advantage for the team to exploit.

Motion doesn't come without inherent flaws, as moving players prior to the snap could raise the chances of penalties on the offense and could even muddy the picture more for a quarterback. For instance, the Colts' lower use of motion last year could be due to Richardson simply not preferring it muddying what he is reading pre-snap.

The Giants' lower use of it during Jones' time with them (roughly 40% each year) could be due to other issues across the offense, and it causes more problems than solutions.

The Colts, with Jones, have a perfect storm to call motion at a high rate. Their quarterback is in full command and control of the offense; he uses it properly to diagnose where to attack, and the Colts have a veteran group of weapons that are each capable of winning individual match-ups.

The easy button laid out for Jones is that he's basically able to determine where he's going with the ball on every play prior to the snap.

According to Fantasy Points Data, Jones had a 97% first-read target rate in week two. That number may seem high, but it makes sense given how confident he is reading pre-snap and attacking defenders with motion. This is far from a bad thing, for now, and it speaks volumes as to how he's processing the game.

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Film Examples

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (white and blue uniform) gets ready to throw a pass.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) looks to pass downfield Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, during a game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Colts have created numerous big plays off of pre-snap motion this season. The big pass play to Jonathan Taylor, for instance, came with a slight shift from the running back pre-snap.

The Colts are running a rail concept to the short side, and Jones is assuming the defense is in a man look with how the outside players are aligned.

The short motion from Taylor creates better leverage for the rail route while also giving Jones the tell he needs to see man coverage.

Jones doesn't hesitate at the snap, as he fires the ball to Taylor on the wheel as the linebacker struggles to scrape over the traffic. The result is a massive gain up the right sideline.

The Colts faced a crucial third down in the red zone in this game, and Jones was able to deliver another strike to Downs. Pre-snap motion moves Downs across the formation to the field side and gives Jones the man indicator with the traveling slot corner. From here, Jones knows that he has the advantage he wants.

Jones hangs in the pocket and delivers a nice pass outside the boundary to Downs for the first down. There's no panic under duress from Jones because he knows that his man will be open on the man coverage call.

Jones has full confidence due to the skill players on the outside and due to the read that he is getting pre-snap.

Motion also worked wonders in week one against the Miami Dolphins, and its effectiveness isn't exclusive to man coverage. The motion from Mo Alie-Cox tells Jones that zone coverage is coming from the defense.

He uses that to shift Taylor over to the left, so he can have three passing threats to attack three levels of the defense and hold that flat defender shallow.

Taylor's out route holds that flat defender, while the post pulls away the corner in quarters. This leaves Tyler Warren wide open for the out and up along the sideline for a big gain. He stares down Warren all the way, and the result is a massive gain.

The Bottom Line

Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (white and blue uniform) runs full sprint away from a defender in pursuit.
Sep 14, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones (17) rushes with the ball during a game against the Denver Broncos at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images | INDIANAPOLIS STAR-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

The real question at the end of the day is whether or not Jones is a vastly different quarterback in this Colts' system. To a degree, he is, as he is playing much more confident and poised as a distributor surrounded by fantastic talent.

He may still have some physical limitations, but mentally, he is diagnosing things in front of him at a high level.

When I say that Steichen is pounding the easy button for Jones, this isn't to take away anything at all from how the quarterback is playing.

If anything, it speaks volumes to his performance thus far. Motion is only an easy button if the quarterback makes it so, and Jones is capitalizing on what Steichen is putting in front of him.

Time will tell how sustainable this Colts' offense is long-term, but the team is off to a fantastic start primarily due to its offensive output.

If the offense can maintain near this level of play for the entire season, then the Colts have a great chance to break their playoff drought in 2025.

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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