Stampede Blue
Thanks to the nflFastR project, Pro Football Focus and NFL NextGen Stats for the timely sources of data.
For those of you new to this, I will publish key QB stats each week judging how well the Colts’ QB performed. Yes, O-Line, receivers, and play-calling impact these numbers but they are primarily QB measures. I will probably modify the charts throughout the season. Commentary will be brief but feel free to let me know in the comments that stats aren’t everything. (click charts for larger view)
I think I could just copy and paste my comments from previous weeks, because Jones keeps delivering the same consistently strong performances. In Week 8, he was once again a top-10 QB in EPA efficiency and success rate, minimizing mistakes and mixing in high-impact plays to keep the NFL’s best offense rolling.
He did take three sacks this week, which was out of the ordinary, but when your biggest complaint is that the worst play of the day was a 3rd & 10 sack, there’s not much to complain about.
His success rate dipped a bit this week, but it was a down week across the league, so he still managed to land at #7. His yardage efficiency and play conversion rate, however, were sky-high — leading to plenty of points.
One of Jones’ strengths this year is the ability to string together completions. At one point, he completed 10 passes in a row and that really helps move the chains. I guess technically there aren’t chains anymore, but “moving the cameras” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Regardless, 70+ % completion rates are a good thing.
He’s kept both his attempt volume and completion depth above average pretty much all season. That’s a big change from his days in New York, where he was often forced to constantly dump off short passes. Even in his previously best season back in 2022, he had the 4th-shortest average attempt depth — but in Indy, he’s up to the 7th-longest. Of course, that’s irrelevant unless you can actually complete those passes — and he is.
Both Pittman and Pierce had big days, nearly matching each other in total receiving depth, but Pittman added a lot more YAC. Warren continues to impress as Jones spreads the ball around nicely.
Warren still leads in total yards, but Pittman is the completions and target leader.
The only low-value throws were the shorter ones, which is completely normal.
Each week I’m stunned by this graph showing all the main receivers delivering above-average value. Colts fans haven’t seen anything like this in a long time. A long, long time. Like… looooooong.
Accuracy (CPOE) jumped significantly this week, driven by Jones connecting on the deeper throws. Ironically, for the season, he’s actually below average on passes behind the line of scrimmage — but he more than makes up for it on throws up to...
