Colts HC Shane Steichen Evaluates QB Play: Has Daniel Jones Been Good Enough?

The Indianapolis Colts took the league by storm in 2025 after their first season with Daniel Jones leading the charge immediately paid dividends.

The Colts were on top of the NFL world after starting last season with an 8-2 record, and a big reason for their hot start was due to the offensive marriage between head coach Shane Steichen and quarterback Daniel Jones.

Jones had gotten the fresh start he needed, and Steichen got his ideal quarterback to run the offense as he envisioned, but it wasn't just their efforts that saw them start the experiment off with said success.

The 2025 Colts offense jumped out to a historically efficient start, and that's because Steichen and Jones were afforded the necessary supporting cast to reach the heights they knew they could.

However, even though the Colts largely ran it back on offense, something's changed through four weeks of the 2026 season.

Of course, Daniel Jones's infamous Achilles tear from Week 14 of the 2025 season has played a part in such regression: but is it a true regression, or is Jones trending back to his true self?

The Colts have managed to even up their overall 2026 record to 2-2 after four weeks, but it's largely been in spite of Jones's play.

Jones currently sports the second-most turnovers responsible for among any quarterback throughout the first month of the season with seven (four interceptions, three fumbles lost), trailing New England Patriots' Drake Maye (eight turnovers).

The Colts' starting quarterback has certainly looked like his peak 2025 self at times throughout the young 2026 regular season, but he's looked like his past self more often than not, and that's not a sustainable formula to bank on.

So, what did Colts' head coach Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones himself have to say about the team's quarterback play through four weeks?

Shane Steichen's Evaluation of Daniel Jones

Daniel Jones Shane Steichen — Oct 2, 2026; Ware, United Kingdom; Indianapolis Colts head coach Shane Steichen (right) talks with quarterback Daniel Jones (17) during practice at Hanbury Manor. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Going into the Colts' Week 4 international matchup against the Washington Commanders, head coach Shane Steichen emphasized the need to take care of the ball moving forward.

Daniel Jones entered the week with five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles lost) through three games, but he didn't clean up his act after traveling overseas.

Jones threw an interception and lost a fumble against the Commanders, and Shane Steichen continued to put an emphasis on the non-negotiable that is not turning the ball over following the Colts' 30-13 victory.

"We just got to get those things cleaned up. That's part of the game. But you want to limit those turnovers as much as you possibly can," Colts' head coach Shane Steichen said about taking care of the football. "We'll go back and look at the tape and make sure we get that stuff cleaned up."

Daniel Jones hasn't been all bad through four weeks of the 2026 regular season, but he's certainly struggled more than he's thrived.

When asked to evaluate Jones's performance thus far, Colts' head coach Shane Steichen was brief but honest.

"I think he's done some really good things and some things we got to clean up," Shane Steichen said about Daniel Jones's performance thus far. "It's been four weeks into this thing and 2-2 right now, and so there's stuff to clean up, like always. But I think he's doing a good job."

I personally wouldn't say that Jones's performance thus far warrants praise, but at least the head coach and offensive playcaller still has confidence in his quarterback despite the rough start.

As alluded to, the Colts were able to thrive with Steichen and Jones leading the charge due to their complementary offense, but a lacking wide receiver core in 2026 has proven to be too much of a challenge thus far.

The Colts are without top wide receiver Alec Pierce for the foreseeable future as he rehabs his left heel injury that kept him out of the majority of the offseason, and this lack of a respectable deep threat has shrunk the offense, thus making it more difficult on the short passing game and run game.

Furthermore, veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen missed Week 4's game against Washington, but Ashton Dulin returned to the fray after missing multiple weeks with an ankle injury. Even though Indianapolis got a vertical threat in Dulin back, the offense still struggled to generate any explosive plays through the air.

The Colts brought in veteran wide receiver Darius Slayton to address this lack of an explosive downfield threat, reuniting him with Daniel Jones, but he's been a healthy scratch for both games since his addition.

Shane Steichen acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the wide receiver position, but ultimately decided that a revolving door of personnel should not dictate a quarterback's overall play, no matter how dire the situation presents itself.

"Darius [Slayton] is still learning the offense. He's getting into it. He's been here for two weeks.
We'll see how next week goes. But I don't think so. I think that's part of the NFL. Guys are going to get hurt. Guys are going to get injured. It's next man up," Shane Steichen on the notion that Daniel Jones has started to showcase some poor tendencies because of his lack of a supporting cast through the air.

"I think [Laquon] Treadwell stepped up. Had some good catches. The ball got spread around a little bit, but overall it was not our best but it was good to win.

Daniel Jones Self-Evaluates His Play So Far This Season

Throughout four weeks, Daniel Jones has been a below-average quarterback - and he knows it.

Entering Week 4, Jones sit among all NFL quarterbacks with the following statistics: 611 passing yards (23rd leaguewide), three passing touchdowns (T-23rd), three interceptions (T-24th), and is sporting the 25th-ranked QB Rating (38.9).

Against the Commanders, Jones did enough to get the job done, but he didn't start off hot. Jones had arguably his worst half in a Colts uniform to start the game, and he looked like the skittish, lost version of himself against pressure that forced him to part ways with the New York Giants.

In Week 4, Jones went 19-34 (55.9%) for 143 passing yards, one interception, was sacked twice, had one rushing TD, and lost a fumble.

It's fair to consider this a passable performance, especially considering the Colts ended up scoring 30 points overall, but in the grand scheme of things, this isn't cutting it come postseason pla -- the Colts' defense, who undeniably held up their end of the bargain against Washington, isn't going to face a depleted offense in the playoffs after all.

But as previously mentioned, Jones's lack of production is nothing compared to what's really holding the Colts' offense back; it's his second-most seven turnovers (four interecptions, three fumbles lost).

"Yeah, definitely got to play better. Got to clean that up. Can't afford to turn the ball over like that," Daniel Jones said about his performance through four weeks so far. "So, yeah, I think I just got to focus in on the details, understand can't do it and make better decisions."

So, if Jones knows that he's not playing up to standard, why does he continue to turn the ball over?

"I think they're all different," Daniel Jones said about his turnovers to start the season.

"Got to understand when to take a chance, when not to, when to protect the ball, when you have a chance to make a play. I think all that is something you're always studying and learning, and I definitely got to do a better job taking care of the ball."

On top of the concerning turnover rate to start the year, Jones has also started to panic in the pocket, and has been wildly inaccurate at times as a result. To be fair to him, the Colts' offensive line has taken a step back in pass protection, thus making life harder on Jones and the rest of the offensive passing game.

Entering Week 4, Jones had faced the 4th-highest amount of pressure among any NFL quarterback, according to Next Gen Stats.

Pass protection wasn't much better against the Washington Commanders, and Jones definitely deserves some grace, but he himself also needs to play better.

As alluded to, Jones and Steichen need a near-perfect situation outside of them offensively, and so far their inconsistent receiving core and pass-blocking woes have proven to be additional obstacles in the pursuit of reclaiming the Colts' early-season success from a season ago.

Such dysfunction to start the year has caused fans to question why the Colts re-signed Jones to a two-year, $88 million deal in the first place. Hitching your wagon to a quarterback who's coming off a torn Achilles was questioned at the time, but now it's looking even more concerning after four weeks.

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