The debut that ended a decade-long Week 1 skid
For the first time since 2013, the Indianapolis Colts opened a season at 1-0. The difference-maker was a quarterback who didn’t tiptoe into his new job—he ran through it. Daniel Jones scored twice on the ground, including a 1-yard keeper, and added a sharp passing day to headline a 33-8 demolition of the Miami Dolphins on September 7, 2025.
This was no easing-in. Jones completed 22 of 29 passes for 272 yards and one touchdown, piling up a career-high 197 passing yards by halftime. He paired that with two designed rushing scores, showing the dual-threat dimension that head coach Shane Steichen has leaned on since arriving in Indianapolis. The Colts didn’t punt. They scored on all seven of their offensive possessions. That’s the kind of clean sheet that turns a season opener into a statement.
The 1-yard touchdown run reflected how deliberate the Colts were in the red zone. Steichen dialed up motion and option looks, letting Jones read the edge and make quick decisions. The short score didn’t happen in a vacuum, either. Indianapolis had control early because its defense squeezed Miami into mistakes. Tua Tagovailoa threw two interceptions, then ex-Dolphin Xavien Howard scooped up a fumble, handing the Colts short fields and momentum that never really faded.
Jones won the starting job over Anthony Richardson during the preseason, a decision that raised eyebrows given Richardson’s draft pedigree and flashes of potential. Week 1 made that call look pragmatic. The offense moved with a rhythm that fit Jones’s skill set—quick-timing throws, defined reads, manageable down-and-distance, and the keepers that punish defenses sitting back on the pass. He didn’t force throws. He didn’t drift in the pocket. He played within structure and hit his spots.
Miami, meanwhile, played from behind all afternoon. Tagovailoa chased the game after those early turnovers, and the timing that usually fuels the Dolphins’ passing attack never settled. When your opponent is perfect on possessions, each mistake feels heavier. This one got heavy by the middle of the second quarter.
- Final: Colts 33, Dolphins 8
- Jones: 22-of-29, 272 yards, 1 passing TD; 2 rushing TDs
- First half: 197 passing yards (career high for any half)
- Colts scored on all seven possessions
- Dolphins: three early turnovers by Tua Tagovailoa (two INTs, one fumble recovered by Xavien Howard)
- First 1-0 start for Indianapolis since 2013, snapping an 11-game opening-day drought
Steichen’s blueprint and what it signals
The immediate takeaway: this looked like a plan, not a hot streak. Steichen built a game script that let Jones operate on schedule and on the move. You saw quick outs to keep the chains honest, in-breakers off play-action to punish linebackers, and designed quarterback runs that flipped red-zone math. It wasn’t flashy for the sake of being flashy; it was selective aggression with answers at the line.
The offensive line did its part, too. Jones had time to hit intermediate windows, and when Miami tried to send pressure, the ball came out. That timing, more than any singular throw, defined the day. It’s hard to tee off on a quarterback who’s throwing on rhythm and willing to take the six-yard completion instead of hunting the hero shot.
Indianapolis also got something you can’t scheme: a defense that steals possessions. The early picks against Tagovailoa changed the field and the feel. Howard’s fumble recovery was the twist of the knife, a familiar face taking the ball from his former team. When the turnover battle tilts that hard, efficiency becomes dominance fast.
There’s context here, and it matters. The Colts have cycled through quarterbacks and coordinators since their last joyful Week 1. They’ve had talented rosters undone by slow starts and Week 1 misfires that lingered. This opener flipped that script. Jones gave them competence and punch in the same package, and the scoreboard reflected it.
What does it mean going forward? Week 1 can lie, but the construction of this win travels. A quarterback who protects the ball, adds a run element in the red zone, and stays within the framework of the offense is sustainable. A defense that creates three early takeaways won’t do it every Sunday, but the Colts have length on the outside and veterans who understand leverage and eyes. That combination is how you avoid the rollercoaster.
For Miami, the tape is going to sting. The Dolphins have speed and an offense that can light up anyone when the timing is right. But turnovers are equalizers, and Sunday was proof. They started behind the sticks, got forced into obvious passing downs, and never found the rhythm that usually puts stress on safeties and linebackers.
If you’re Indianapolis, you don’t frame this as a one-off. The offense hit its reads, the quarterback played mistake-free, and the defense took the ball away. That’s not a gimmick. That’s a template the Colts have chased for years, and for one clean afternoon, it finally looked like a team with a plan and a quarterback who fits it.
