Giddy-in' up

 Look, I know it's stupid early. I know the NFL season lasts so long Zephram Cochrane will invent warp drive and meet up with the Vulcans before it's over (rando "Star Trek" reference). And I know we're only three games into it, which means ol' Zeph probably isn't even born yet.

But holy Tom Matte, Batman. What the heck is up with these Indianapolis Colts?

They won again yesterday, cruising past the Titans in Nashville 41-20, and now they're 3-0 and everyone else in the AFC South is landfill, and golly gee willickers and heavens to Murgatroyd besides. Is it possible they're actually, you know, a pretty damn good football team?

So far they've handled the Dolphins, Broncos and Titans, and even though the combined record of those teams is 1-8, attention must be paid. Daniel Jones is playing quarterback like he just discovered it ("So THAT'S how this is supposed to work!"). Jonathan Taylor leads the league in rushing with 338 yards, averaging 5.6 yards per tote. And Jones leads the league in QBR, has thrown for 816 yards and three scores with a completion rate of almost 72 percent, and has yet to throw a pick.

Yesterday he was his usual -- I guess we can say "usual" after three games, right? -- efficient self, completing 18-of-25 throws for 228 yards and a touchdown to Michael Pittman Jr., who caught six balls for 73 yards. Fellow wideouts Alex Pierce and Josh Downs chipped with four catches for 67 yards and two snags for 34 yards, respectively. And Tyler Warren, a rookie tight end who doesn't play like one, caught three passes for another 38 yards.

And on the other side of the ball?

Kenny Moore II set the tone early, baiting the Titans' No. 1 draft pick Cam Ward into a pick six three plays into the game. The Horsies went on to smoosh the Titans' run game (86 yards), hold them to five first downs on 14 third downs, sack Ward four times and make eight tackles for loss.

A couple of exciting historic stats for FOCs (Friends of the Colts): 

1. The Colts are 3-0 for the first time since 2009, when Peyton Manning was still upright and rolling.

2. Jones has QB'ed the Horsies to 103 points in the first three games, and did Peyton ever do that? No he did not. In fact, no Colts quarterback -- not even Mike Pagel -- has ever done that since the team moved to Indianapolis 41 years ago. 

"What the hell, Mr. Blob?" you're saying now.

Couple of things.

One, JT hasn't gotten hurt yet, and when he's not hurt he's still one of the best and most versatile backs in football. Two, Daniel Jones is not playing for the Giants anymore. He's playing for the Colts, who, unlike the Giants, have an offensive line that gives him at least a second or two to breathe, plus a roomful of wideouts who can get open pretty much whenever they feel like it. Plus Tyler Warren.

This will do wonders for an NFL quarterback you assumed was trash. It's doing wonders for Jones, certainly, who was trash until he came to a place where guys get open and there's plenty of 'em. Just look what happened to Baker Mayfield -- who suddenly became a pretty damn good QB once he went over the wall and escaped Cleveland for Tampa.

I'm not saying that's who Daniel Jones is. But I'm not saying he's not, either.

In any case, we're three games in and the Colts are giddy-in' up. I suppose you could get all spiritual here and say this is Jim Irsay pulling some mystic strings out there in the Great Beyond, but I prefer to think it has more to do with the wide receivers, a healthy JT and an offensive line that doesn't leave its quarterback looking up at the sky on the regular.

What I think all that means is the AFC South is Indy's for the taking. But then I've always been a cockeyed optimist.