Daniel Jones & offense handle Steve Spagnuolo’s…

1. Daniel Jones, Jonathan Taylor, Josh Downs and the Colts’ offensive line handled the Chiefs’ pressure packages nicely.

Jones was not sacked on 35 dropbacks Sunday, and he was pressured on just nine of those plays – the third-lowest rate across Week 2 prior to Monday Night Football. Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo sent 10 blitzes, and Jones completed seven of 10 passes for 89 yards with a touchdown against those looks. Six of those seven passes went for a first down.

Two throws in particular stood out, with the first coming on a third and four from the Chiefs’ 14-yard line on the Colts’ opening possession. Kansas City walked seven defenders up to the line with a double mug look and sent all seven as pass rushers while playing man coverage behind it. The Colts had a six-man protection with running back Jonathan Taylor picking up one blitzer, but that meant Jones was responsible for throwing hot against an unblocked pressure.

With safety Jaden Hicks in his face, Jones got the ball out to wide receiver Josh Downs, who quickly won to the inside of cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, for a first down. Jones tossed a play-action touchdown to tight end Tyler Warren a few plays later.

The second one was another all-out Spagnuolo blitz that Jones and Downs handled well. Again, Spagnuolo had seven defenders walked up to the line at the snap and sent all seven, with Taylor picking up Bolton through the A-gap. Safety Alohi Gilman was the free rusher through the B-gap and immediately got in Jones’ face. But the Colts’ quarterback quickly flipped a pass to Downs, who again created space on an inside release from the slot and then fought for enough yardage to convert a third-and-six.

This one was at the time the biggest play of the game – it came with the Colts trailing, 27-20, with about seven minutes remaining. A sack or an incompletion would’ve resulted in a field goal, which would’ve handed the ball back to the Chiefs with a four-point lead. Instead, Taylor punched in a five-yard touchdown to tie the game.

What’s clear is how prepared the Colts were for the aggressive nature of Spagnuolo’s Kansas City defense, which for nearly a decade has finished games with maniacal, drive-ending blitzes. On Sunday night, the Colts’ ability to handle those pressures very much kept them in the game until the end.