With two full weeks of the 2025 NFL season officially in the books, no quarterback has been off to a hotter start than first-year Indianapolis Colts starter Daniel Jones.
Originally signed to compete with former fifth overall pick Anthony Richardson, Jones won the job outright, took control of Shane Steichen's offense, and never looked back, ranking second in passing yards through Week 2 with a completion percentage of 71.4 while holding the best yards per passing attempt in the NFL.
And no one is more excited to see the former Giants quarterback succeed than another Meadowlands castoff, Saquon Barkley, who told reporters on Saturday that he couldn't be happier to see his former quarterback shine.
“Outside of the Philadelphia Eagles and myself, I want no one else to perform at a high level (more than) Daniel Jones,” Barkley told Zach Berman. “The fact that he's off to a hot start… to go out there now and play at a high level and get to show people the player that I know and the person I know. I'm a big believer in anything, it might not happen in football, but the way he carries himself and the way he works and the way he competes, it's going to show at some point.”
While Barkley's run in New York ended on a sour note, with the organization effectively choosing Jones over the running back as a building block for the future, it's clear that choice didn't impact the friendship between the two long-time offensive leaders. Barkley praised Jones last season when he was released by the Giants, and now again in 2025, as both players are shining in an offense built from the Nick Sirianni coaching tree.
Will Jones be able to keep his hot streak going? It's hard to say, but plenty of fans had questions about Barkley's ceiling when he left the Giants, and he just had one of the very best running back seasons in NFL history. If Jones can have a similar glow-up away from the Big Apple, it's safe to assume Colts fans will be very happy to have “Indiana Jones” running the show into the future.
