A brutal 1-15 career record in prime time defines Daniel Jones’s NFL career right now, making his Sunday Night Football start against the Chiefs a massive moment for the Colts. Tonight, Jones isn’t just trying to help his team avoid a rough 0-2 start in his second game back from tearing his Achilles, he’s also fighting to reverse one of the most abysmal prime-time track records in league history. These aren’t just struggles, folks, these are historic, league-worst struggles.
A Prime-Time Nightmare
Let’s talk numbers, because they don’t lie. Jones’s 1-15 prime-time record is, without a doubt, the worst mark of any starting quarterback with at least 10 starts since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. And it’s not even close. Geno Smith, for comparison, sits at 4-15. Andy Dalton at 6-21. Jones is in a league of his own, and it’s not the one you want to be in. If you think wins aren’t a QB stat, his individual performance doesn’t paint a prettier picture. Among 78 quarterbacks who have started at least 10 prime-time games since 1970, Jones ranks dead last, 78th, in touchdown-to-interception ratio at 12-21. He’s 76th in yards per attempt (5.8) and 76th in passer rating (70.5). Even his sack rate, at 8.8 percent, puts him 70th. The man hasn’t thrown a touchdown in his last eight prime-time starts, the longest streak by any quarterback since 1970. Nobody else has a streak longer than five games! He’s also gone six straight games with zero touchdown passes and at least one interception, another longest streak since 1970. It’s a brutal reality check.
A Past Full of Pain, A Future Full of Questions
His lone prime-time victory came back in 2022 when the Giants beat Washington 20-12, a game where Jones only threw for 160 yards. A win’s a win, sure, but his last six prime-time starts have been nothing short of disastrous. Remember Week 1 of 2023? The Giants, fresh off a surprise playoff berth, opened the season on Sunday Night Football against the Cowboys. It was a 40-0 shutout, the largest in the long history between those two teams. Cowboys cornerback Noah Igbinoghene returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown, setting the tone for a completely dreadful night where Jones went 15 for 28 for just 104 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked seven times and posted a 32.4 passer rating. Just throwing every pass incomplete gives you a 39.6 rating! It got no better in Week 3 against the 49ers, a 30-12 loss where Jones was under siege all night, throwing for only 137 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. The silver lining, if you can call it that, is that this Sunday night against the Chiefs marks Jones’s first prime-time start with the Colts. All 16 previous prime-time struggles were with the Giants.
Can Jones reverse his fortunes tonight and prevent the Colts from digging an 0-2 hole? He’s got to find a way to stop the historic streaks of futility, especially against a tough Chiefs squad. Every Colts fan has to be holding their breath right now, hoping for something, anything, different.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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