The spotlight has not been kind to Daniel Jones, and that’s the part Colts fans can’t ignore heading into Sunday night.
Indianapolis gets Kansas City in Week 2 on prime time, and Jones is bringing along a brutal track record under the brightest lights. Since he entered the league with the New York Giants in 2019, he has started 16 prime-time games and won only one of them.
That 1-15 mark is the worst of any quarterback with at least 10 prime-time starts. The lone win came in 2022, when the Giants beat the Washington Commanders.
The numbers around those losses are just as ugly. Jones has thrown 12 touchdown passes and 20 interceptions in those games, a split that helps explain why the pressure-point games have gone so badly. It also raises the obvious question of how he might look if Indianapolis gets into the playoffs.
Kansas City, of course, is not exactly the opponent you want when you’re trying to shake off that kind of reputation. The Chiefs are no strangers to late kickoffs, having played the third-most prime-time games since 2018, the year Patrick Mahomes became their full-time starter.
Still, Week 2 is bigger than Jones against Mahomes, and the Colts have more than one reason to believe they can hang around after being blown out by the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 while Kansas City handled the Denver Broncos. One game does not define a season, and early results can mislead. The Seattle Seahawks lost their opener last year and finished by winning the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis also gets a different defensive matchup this time. Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is not dealing with Lamar Jackson again after going 1-10 in his career against Jackson-led offenses. Against Mahomes-led teams, Anarumo is 3-4, which at least gives the Colts a fighting chance.
Shane Steichen’s history against Steve Spagnuolo is not spotless, but the offense has shown it can move the ball in those matchups. In four games as either an offensive coordinator or head coach, Steichen’s teams have scored 20 points twice against Spagnuolo, and they’ve also put up 35 and 38.
And while Jones’ prime-time record is rough, his two games against the Chiefs have been better than the overall résumé suggests. The teams lost both times, but Jones threw four touchdowns and only one interception in those matchups.
So yes, the prime-time record is alarming. But it doesn’t automatically doom Indianapolis on Sunday night.
In Other News...
Colts Make Early Defensive Change After Week 1 Communication Issues
After a Week 1 loss that exposed some communication hiccups on defense, the Colts are making an early adjustment to the way the operation is run on the field. Head coach Shane Steichen said the team will shift the defensive signal-calling duties from safety Camryn Bynum to linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, a move aimed at cleaning up the kind of issues that can snowball quickly once the regular season begins.
For Indianapolis, the change is less about panic than urgency. The Colts knew the first game would be a useful test of how smoothly the defense could line up, adjust and get everyone on the same page, and now they are trying to get ahead of the problem before it becomes a recurring one. With Davis-Gaither stepping into the role, the focus turns to whether a different voice can settle things down and help the defense find its rhythm faster. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Enter Chiefs Game With One Absence And Bigger Health Questions
As the Colts get ready for a key matchup with the Chiefs, their injury report has a little bit of everything: one player out, a couple of key pieces cleared, and at least one return on the way. Ashton Dulin will miss the game because of an ankle injury and is considered week-to-week, a hit to Indianapolis special teams depth and a reminder that the roster is still settling in early in the season.
Alec Pierce and backup quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. are both available after working through recent injuries, which gives the Colts some needed flexibility on offense. The other encouraging sign is Austin Ajiake, who is expected back after sitting out the opener with a hamstring issue, leaving Indianapolis with fewer health concerns overall even if Dulins absence lingers into next week. [Read more 🡒]
Colts Suddenly Have A Slot Corner Problem They Can't Ignore
The Colts came out of their 2026 opener with more questions than answers on defense, and the most immediate one sits right in the slot. Justin Walley, a second-year player making his NFL debut after coming back from an ACL injury, was asked to handle that spot against Baltimore and had a rough afternoon as the Ravens picked on the middle of the field.
Zay Flowers was the biggest problem in that matchup, and Indianapolis now has to decide how quickly it wants to adjust. Bringing in veteran Cam Taylor-Britt is one possible fix, while another would be moving Sauce Gardner inside, but either way the Colts can see the issue clearly enough already: the slot corner position is not something they can afford to let linger. [Read more 🡒]