Jacob Eason shows Colts everything they could ask for in debut

Second-year quarterback Jacob Eason saw the field for the first time in Sunday’s preseason matchup and gave the Colts a small twinge of optimism. 

Whenever the Indianapolis Colts found out about the Carson Wentz foot injury and subsequent surgery that will sideline him for 5-12 weeks, the reaction was relatively doom and gloom. And though that might seem dramatic, it stemmed from the fact that Wentz’s backups are second-year pro Jacob Eason and rookie Sam Ehlinger. Neither player had taken a regular season or preseason snap prior to Sunday.

Due to that, however, there was a lot of intrigue about the quarterbacks coming into Sunday’s preseason opener against Carolina. It was Eason who got the start for the game with Ehlinger playing the majority of the second half. The rookie performed well but it was Eason who ultimately stole the show.

The fourth-round pick in the 2020 draft played a pretty much mistake-free game against the Panthers as Eason finished the day going 15-of-21 for 183 yards, though he did take three sacks and suffered one fumble. For what it’s worth, Ehlinger was 10-of-15 for 155 yards with one interception but also rushed eight times for 30 yards.

Still, it was Eason who showed much more promise than I or many others expected. He was confident, surprisingly accurate overall, and had his arm strength on display. His best throws and plays were undeniably impressive:

https://twitter.com/Colts/status/1426960683388870668

For a player who wasn’t drawing much confidence and, according to reports, was having the rookie practice with the first team at times prior to this game, this was the performance Eason needed.

One game doesn’t prove Jacob Eason is a future star but it can help the Colts’ confidence in the young quarterback.

It should be noted that Jacob Eason wasn’t perfect. His lack of pocket awareness that was often on display at Washington was evident and didn’t help when he fumbled. Moreover, accuracy is still not his strong point by any measure. But this was still an overall positive performance that should give the Colts confidence in the second-year quarterback as he may have to start come Week 1.

Of course, we shouldn’t totally overreact. Eason has one appearance on an NFL field that wasn’t for practice and it was a preseason game in which many of the Panthers starters didn’t suit up or play. But still, it’s a good feeling for the Indianapolis faithful to have a young quarterback who’s unproven come out in his first opportunity to prove himself and look this good.

Now it’s about Eason building off of this performance. There’s no questioning his arm talent and the upside; there’s also a reason he went in the fourth round. Eason needs to show he can be consistently accurate enough — no one is asking him to be Drew Brees — so that the offense can be competent while Wentz is out. This was the first step in feeling like that’s possible but it needs to keep on throughout the rest of the preseason.