Sunday marked the first time Daniel Jones played an actual NFL game since early December. Some guys wouldn't even have been back on the field in Week 1 after an Achilles tear, but he sped up his recovery and didn't miss a beat all these months.
While his performance wasn't anything to brag about in the Indianapolis Colts' Week 1 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, he was hardly to blame for the setback. All things considered, and looking at the context, it was actually encouraging.
As much as the discourse is often quarterback-centric, putting this one on Jones, or even being worried about his game, would probably be hyperbole. He must be better, but by all means, there's no reason to believe that won't be the case.
Daniel Jones deserves some slack after Indianapolis Colts' Week 1 loss
Jones was wheeling and dealing early on. He spread the ball and kept everyone involved in the first drive of the game, looking as if he had never gotten hurt. He stood tall in the pocket, made good decisions, and diced a very good Ravens defense to get his first score of the season.
That was probably his highest point all afternoon. He followed that score with a head-scratching interception that set up the Ravens' second touchdown of the afternoon. But again, it was hardly all on the signal-caller.
Jones wasn't to blame for terrible linebacker play. He's definitely not responsible for tackling Zay Flowers on the open field, and it wouldn't make sense to blame him for giving up three rushing scores to Derrick Henry.
We're talking about a guy who, although he has struggled with consistency in his career, is coming off a major injury. His first test of the season came against a defensive-minded head coach with a stacked defense, and it's not like the offensive line did him many favors in this one, either.
There will always be some mixed results with someone like Daniel Jones. He can look like a Hall of Famer one day and like the same guy who stumbled his way out of the Big Apple the next day, but the overall balance with Shane Steichen should be positive.
Regardless of Jones' performance, the Colts still put up 23 points against a very good defense, and on a day when even Jonathan Taylor had a rare fumble. Maybe we're just trying to see the glass as half full here, but that should be an encouraging sign.
There's no signal-caller who can routinely overcome his team giving up 506 yards on defense. The quarterback is used to getting most of the blame and the credit, but while Jones wasn't a high point in the defeat, he was far from the primary concern.
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