Can Daniel Jones do it again?

For one week, the Colts new quarterback gave his team everything it could want from a QB. Is this the real Jones or was this an anomaly?

For one week, Daniel Jones was everything the Colts could have wanted out of a starting quarterback. He was 22-of-27 for 272 yards, one passing and two rushing touchdowns and an impressive 115.9 quarterback rating in a 33-8 victory over the Miami Dolphins. This was the kind of quarterback play the Colts have been looking for since Andrew Luck retired in 2019.

The question is, can he do it again against the Denver Broncos, and do it against last year's third-ranked defense and a team that limited Tennessee to seven first downs and sacked Cam Ward six times last Sunday? Nik Bonitto. Zach Allen. Patrick Surtain. They're talented, and they're deep.

Is this normal for Jones -- and if it is, the Colts QB troubles are over -- or was this an anomaly?

Remember, Carson Wentz and Jacoby Brissett had their moments, too. But if the Colts can get this kind of production from their quarterback, this could be a more interesting season than we suspected it might be.

This much is clear: Jones -- can we call him "Indiana Jones"? -- has made one hell of a strong early impression. Not only is he making the layups, to steal a term from Chris Ballard, but he's making impactful plays with his arm and his feet.

"I just feel like he's been doing a great job since he came in, the same guy every day, a real pro," said defensive tackle DeForest Buckner. "It's a fresh start, a new organization. Nobody knows you, is what I'm saying. What they know, they know from the media or whatever. And you have to build those relationships and (establish) trust."

Colts offensive line coach Tony Sparano Jr. spent one year, 2022, with Jones while both were with the New York Giants. That was also Jones' best year.

"He's a pro's pro, you know, he works, he works really hard at it, and he cares a lot," Sparano said. "That was something I always admired about him. In New York, I watched how hard he worked and how much he cared about the whole operation, just the communication with his line or his receivers or his backs. The extra work he puts in every day, every detail is very important to him. It's just awesome to watch him work."

Shane Steichen, who's putting his reputation and maybe his job on the line with Jones leading the charge, has been endlessly impressed by his starter.

"Just hearing from other people and the way he worked, the way his brain saw the game," Steichen said. "Talking to different people, going through the process before we signed him, it came down to work ethic and the way he sees the game. Obviously, the completion percentage was huge, and he's had success and a lot of people had great things to say about him. I didn't hear one negative thing, and he's proven (why) since Day 1."

Jones knows he wasn't a popular choice to start, fans wanting to roll the dice with Anthony Richardson, who seems to offer a higher ceiling and a lower floor than Jones. But if Jones can just be solid -- not great, just solid -- the Colts, who have a pretty representative roster, have a chance to compete in the underwhelming AFC South.

"I definitely realize the public, the media, the press, is not in my favor, has not been in my favor, and that's part of it," Jones said on the Pat McAfee Show. "We didn't win enough games in New York and I didn't play well enough, so that comes with it. But you're aware of it (the doubt). In this day and age, you can't completely block it out. You try to (dismiss it) as best you can and stay focused on what you're doing."

As always, it comes down to the quarterback play. And it comes down to protecting Jones, which they did exceedingly well last week against Miami. Compare that to New York, where he was sacked 200 times in 70 games. Miami blitzed more than any team in Week 1 and managed just six pressures. In New York, he averaged 12.

As football analyst Greg Cosell recently said on the Ross Tucker Podcast, "Even at his best, we know what he is. He's basically a piece of an offense. He can be what he really is, which is an executor and a ball distributor."

Jones was everything the Colts could have wanted Sunday, leading his team to scores on all seven drives. It was just the 10th time in his career he completed 75% or more of his passes. Known as a dinker and dunker, Jones averaged 9.4 yards per pass attempt, which is well above the league average (7.6)..

Of course, we've seen this before. Jones played exceedingly well in a Week 3 Giants' victory over the Browns last year, his best performance in some time. He then struggled, the Giants lost five of six and he was benched.

This has a chance to be a wildly compelling comeback story, on par with Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Geno Smith, all washouts with their original teams, only to change teams and discover a second act.

Jones wasn't the People's Choice coming out of training camp, but if he continues to play the way he did in the opener, some eyes will be opened.