It's no secret that Indianapolis Colts quarterback Daniel Jones has completely surpassed all expectations surrounding the 2025 season. Fans and analysts alike were shocked to see him named the starter over Anthony Richardson, and predictions were that he would be a safe, boring quarterback who could execute an offense but not elevate it.
To put it simply, those predictions were incredibly wrong. Though many thought Jones would be a disaster and were ready to write the 2025 season off as a loss, Danny Dimes has instead been playing at an elite level. He's easily one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL right now, and yet, the MVP hype has not been nearly as high as it should be.
Jones is being massively underrated, overlooked in favor of bigger names like Patrick Mahomes. He's even being overlooked for one of his own teammates - Jonathan Taylor - and while there's no doubt Taylor would be deserving, too, quarterbacks are typically the ones who get MVP nods. And that again shows that Jones is not being given the credit he deserves.
Colts QB Daniel Jones has the numbers — and the wins — to lead the MVP race
By virtually every metric one can imagine, Jones is winning. He is handling pressures better than any other quarterback in the league, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required)... ever.
He has a 91.8 QBR under pressure, the highest in a single season since the metric began being tracked in 2006. In six of his seven games with the Colts, he's taken one sack or less and has a passer rating of over 100.
Somehow, the additions of Daniel Jones and Tyler Warren were all the Colts needed to become the best team in the NFL.
.@LRiddickESPN argues that Daniel Jones could be leading the NFL MVP race right now 👀 pic.twitter.com/8qt49n4N8T
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) October 8, 2025
Yet he's still being overlooked in favor of overrated QBs like Patrick Mahomes, and it's hard to understand why. Yes, Mahomes is a legendary quarterback likely to be inducted into the Hall of Fame one day. But we're talking about this season, right now. Mahomes has better name recognition, and his talent is well-established. There's no denying any of that.
But how could Mahomes be considered more likely to be named league MVP when their stats are strikingly similar, and yet the Colts are considerably better than this year's Chiefs? Jones leads the league in total QBR (79.7) while completing 71 percent of his passes. There's no world in which it makes sense for Mahomes to be rated above Jones, and yet, here we are.
Yet, the Colts are coming back from a long stretch of below-average play. Indy was clearly an underdog heading into 2025, and doubters were holding on to their skepticism even as the Colts won week after week. But as some point, enough is enough, and it's time for the Colts - and Jones - to be given their proper due.