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The Indianapolis Colts’ fairytale start to the 2025 season came to a screeching halt in Week 9. That was courtesy of the Pittsburgh Steelers and a nightmare outing from quarterback Daniel Jones. What had been a season of redemption has quickly been tainted as Jones committed five turnovers. Jones had three interceptions and two fumbles in a 27-20 loss that stunned the Colts.

Colts’ magical run hits a wall

The Colts entered the game with a league-best 7-1 record. They looked like legitimate Super Bowl contenders under head coach Shane Steichen. From the moment Jones was stripped on a first-quarter sack, though, the tone was set. The Steelers converted several of Jones’s mistakes into points. They turned short fields into touchdowns and forced Indianapolis out of its comfort zone. Despite a late rally, Jones’s miscues proved insurmountable. Now, the Colts’ once high-powered offense was held to its lowest output of the season. Note that Indy had averaged over 30 points per game in their last four outings before Week 9.

The loss reopened old wounds for Jones, whose tenure with the New York Giants had been defined by turnover issues. Now, those concerns are back and louder than ever.

Here we'll try to look at and discuss the Daniel Jones panic meter after his brutal showing in the Indianapolis Colts' loss to Steelers.

Panic meter: 8 out of 10

There’s no sugarcoating it. Daniel Jones’s Week 9 meltdown was a crisis moment. He had seemingly found stability and success in Indianapolis. Sunday’s performance, though, was a gut punch to both his confidence and the Colts’ momentum. The panic meter for Jones sits at a firm 8 out of 10. That's not because one loss derails a season. Rather, it's because of the return of old habits that had supposedly been buried.

Jones finished the game 31-of-50 for 342 yards and a pair of touchdowns. That said, those numbers hide the damage. His five turnovers directly led to 17 Steelers points. Each mistake seemed more avoidable than the last. The first interception came on a misread slant. The second was a forced deep ball into double coverage. The third was an errant throw under pressure. The fumbles? Both came from holding onto the ball too long.

This felt like a regression. It's just impossible for Colts fans not to feel uneasy about what it means moving forward.

Catastrophic turnovers killed the Colts

The most obvious reason for concern: five turnovers.. Before this week, the Colts had just four giveaways all season. Against Pittsburgh, Jones exceeded that in a single game. The Steelers turned three of those turnovers into scoring drives, including one off a strip-sack deep in Colts territory.

Turnovers aren’t new for Jones, of course. However, what makes this game particularly alarming is the timing. The Colts were 7-1, in control of the AFC, and facing a Steelers team on a losing streak. A clean performance would have kept Indianapolis atop the standings. Instead, Jones’s mistakes handed the game away.

This was the first time since 2007 that a Colts quarterback committed five turnovers in a single contest. That quarterback was Peyton Manning in a meaningless late-season game. For Jones, this one mattered.

The return of ‘Giants Jones?'

The ghosts of New York followed Daniel Jones to Pittsburgh. Under constant pressure, he reverted to the panicked, indecisive version of himself that frustrated Giants fans for years.

The Steelers sacked him five times and hit him nine more. When protection broke down, Jones hesitated rather than throwing the ball away. He often drifted backward into pressure. Even when the pocket held, his decision-making was erratic.

By the fourth quarter, Jones padded his numbers with short completions and a late touchdown to Josh Downs. It wasthe kind of stat line that flatters but doesn’t fool anyone watching. The performance evoked flashbacks of his worst days in New York. He routinely had promising starts derailed by poor pocket awareness and costly turnovers under duress.

Contract talks just got complicated

Heading into Week 9, reports suggested the Colts were exploring a long-term extension for Jones. Remember that he had rejuvenated his career after being cast aside by the Giants. Don't be shocked if those conversations froze after Sunday’s debacle.

It’s not just about one bad game. It's about optics. The Colts took a calculated gamble signing Jones as their bridge quarterback. A performance like this reopens the debate of whether Jones is truly a long-term answer, or a high-variance stopgap?

For general manager Chris Ballard, it’s a financial dilemma. Do you reward Jones for his strong start, trusting the first eight weeks more than the last one? Or do you pump the brakes, fearing that the New York version of Jones has simply been lurking beneath the surface? Sunday’s performance tilted that equation heavily toward caution.

A loss that could derail the season

Even great teams stumble, but it’s how they stumble that matters. The Colts just unraveled here. Turnovers, missed reads, and a total lack of composure on offense transformed what should have been a manageable road game into a wake-up call.

Now, Indianapolis faces its toughest stretch of the season with Jones’s confidence shaken and questions swirling about his leadership. Another multi-turnover game, and the panic meter could spike to full-blown crisis territory.

All eyes on the bounce-back

Daniel Jones has been here before, under fire and needing redemption. His resilience will define what happens next. One catastrophic outing doesn’t erase the progress he’s made this season. That said, it does reset expectations.

The panic meter is pretty high because this looks like a psychological catastrophe. The Colts have built an offense around stability and efficiency. Jones just torched both.