Former Vikings QB Turns into Turnover Machine
Daniel Jones encountered his first real brush with adversity this season, as the ex-Minnesota Vikings signal-caller picked Week 9 for his worst game of the season. The Indianapolis Colts lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-20, and Jones was a mess.
It was smooth sailing for one former Minnesota Vikings quarterback through eight weeks, but the wheels totally fell off for a game in Week 9.
The Colts will hope to put the performance behind them as an outlier and resume their winning ways in Week 10.
Ex-Vikings QB Daniel Jones Faceplants at PIT
The man was destined to have at least one stinker.
Five Turnovers for Daniel Jones in Week 9
In his team’s second loss of 2025, Jones played like a nincompoop.
He threw for 342 yards — that part was fine — but he logged just one touchdown and gift-wrapped 3 interceptions and 3 fumbles along the way. Two of the fumbles were recovered by Pittsburgh, so Jones personally created 5 turnovers, which felt like a throwback to the bad section of his career with the New York Giants.
The Athletic‘s James Boyd wrote, “Jones, who entered Sunday’s contest with three turnovers this season, had five against the Steelers. He was strip-sacked by Watt in the first quarter; linebackers Wilson and Sawyer intercepted Jones in the second and third quarters, respectively; linebacker Highsmith strip-sacked Jones midway through the fourth quarter; and Jones was picked off again by Porter with just under three minutes left in the game.
“The Steelers hadn’t forced a turnover since Week 4, but they converted three of Jones’ turnovers into touchdowns to snap Indy’s four-game winning streak.”
The First Poor Showing of 2025
Jones’ season had gone so well through eight weeks that he nibbled at the MVP conversation, residing in the Top 10 of hopefuls. Of course, a single game won’t utterly ruin everything, but some fear that Week 9 Jones is a peek into the future.
The former Giant showed stretches of brilliance in New York — Vikings fans will remember December 2022 and January 2023 quite well — but his top-tier play never had staying power.
It felt like that narrative had been erased through two months of 2025. Now, though, Jones’ five turnovers in a single game may not bode well for the long haul, especially if the Colts wish to be considered genuine Super Bowl contenders.
It’s also worth noting that the Steelers’ defense is pretty damn lousy this year. Jones was not facing an elite defense.
Colts Now Share No. 1 Seed
Indianapolis blinked — five Jones turnovers will do that — and lost its sole possession of the AFC’s No. 1 seed. That placement is vitally important because, of course, one team from each conference will get the week off during Wildcard Weekend. An automatic win.
For the time being, the Colts have a 7-2 record, sharing the No. 1 seed with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Before Week 9, many felt Indianapolis lived in the driver’s seat for the No. 1 seed because it had cruised through the first two months of the regular season.
That has now changed, and Indianapolis looks mortal, with Jones’ red flag in plain view.
Schedule Doesn’t Allow for More Bad Games
Indianapolis had one of the league’s easiest schedules in September and October, which is probably why its record turned out so damn impressive. That changed in Week 9 — and doesn’t really let up for the long haul.
The Atlanta Falcons are not a Super Bowl contender, but after next weekend’s game, the schedule features almost all playoff hopefuls:
- Week 10: Atlanta Falcons
- Week 11: BYE
- Week 12: at Kansas City Chiefs
- Week 13: Houston Texans
- Week 14: at Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 15: at Seattle Seahawks
- Week 16: San Francisco 49ers
- Week 17: Jacksonville Jaguars
- Week 18: at Houston Texans
At 7-2, Jones and Co. have an admirable cushion, but that schedule will test the team’s mettle.
CBS Sports on Jones
Tyler Sullivan of CBS Sports sized up overreactions around the NFL on Monday, and for Jones, he called his one-game dip just a road bump.
He explained, “The Indianapolis Colts entered Week 9 as the AFC’s No. 1 seed and the NFL’s most explosive offense. Daniel Jones looked reborn, playing like one of the league’s most efficient quarterbacks. And then it all came crashing down in Pittsburgh.”
“The Colts quarterback accounted for five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles lost) as Indy fell to the Steelers in a 27-20 defeat that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggests. Coming into Sunday, Jones had just three turnovers for the entire year, so the floor fell completely out from under him.”
The Falcons’ defense is fierce, setting the stage for a rough bounceback game if Jones wishes to slay the Week 9 demons.
Sullivan continued, “Is this Jones reverting to his New York Giants form? Are the Colts suddenly staring down a second-half collapse? Not yet. This felt more like a long-overdue letdown, and while the turnovers were jarring, the concern shouldn’t reach panic territory — unless it happens again next week in Berlin against the Falcons.”
“If Jones looks rattled overseas, then it’s time to start sounding alarms.”
Oddsmakers expect Indianapolis to beat Atlanta by five or six points in Germany.
You must be logged in to post a comment.