QB Daniel Jones and the Colts are the biggest surprise of the 2025 NFL season. Jone is averaging over 9.3 yards per pass attempt and has not committed a turnover. He lit up Miami in the opener, but the Dolphins secondary is a joke. Denver can cover. His performance was nearly identical. Rookie TE Tyler Warren has been great and WR Alec Pierce is averaging more than 20 yards per reception. Before his last year with the Giants, I wrote that I thought Jones could be a later bloomer like Rich Gannon. Then he went and stunk it up and New York cut him. It has been only two weeks. He will regress some. But Indy Jones may not regress into the old Danny Dimes.
How bad is Miami’s pass coverage? The answer is just awful. Jones and New England’s Drake Maye–not exactly Peyton Manning and Tom Brady–have averaged more than 9.6 yards per pass attempt and the Dolphins have yet to create a turnover. HC Mike McDaniel seems to be following apart. He is getting testy with the media and providing sarcastic and snarky comments. He is no longer the hipster breath of fresh air when he came aboard and took the Miami to the playoffs. I still like him. I think he still can design. But at this point both McDaniel and the Fins look cooked.
Did you see the Eagles rookie S Andrew Makuba flying all over the field against the Chiefs? I loved it. He was in the right place at the right time when KC TE Travis Kelce bobbled a perfect strike from Patrick Mahomes. Makuba gobbled it up in the Philadelphia end zone and race to the Eagles 41-yard line. It was the play that turned the games. Ourlads.com described his play perfectly in its pre-draft notes: “Sees route concepts develop quickly and plays with extraordinary leverage to take away multiple routes at once; his route recognition and zone awareness is what really sets his game apart. Excellent job reading the quarterback from depth and underneath, with burst and acceleration to close on receivers in a hurry. Takes away underneath routes in zone with quickness and processing speed.”
Kyle Shannahan is doing his usual masterful job in San Francisco. Despite losing QB Brock Purdy, the 49ers play design is plus 4.8%, about where it always is, and San Francisco is 2-0. As long as the Niners can continue to break even in the turnover battled, they should be able to hang in the race for a playoff spot. If backup QB Mac Jones turns into a TO machine, well, not even Shannahan can overcome that.