Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb refuse to lose as Cowboys top Colts

Absolutely nothing comes simple for the 2026 Dallas Cowboys, however they handled to get back in the win column on Sunday with a 27-23 win at the Indianapolis Colts. It is their very first win scoring less than 30 points considering that last season’s amazing resurgence in Week 12 vs. the Eagles, which provided Brian Schottenheimer’s group their very first winning streak of that 2025 season.

At the end of another rollercoaster video game, this 4th win of the season enters the very same container as the other narrow win the Cowboys have versus another AFC South challenger – Dak Prescott declining to lose with the ball in his hands, and making the plays when it mattered most to guarantee this. The Texans win was specified by Prescott and CeeDee Lamb making all the plays when it mattered, and without George Pickens this time out, Lamb’s wedding day was much more vital.

There were plays by the defense in the very first half that made this video game seem like it would not come close to requiring any late video game heroics from the offense, however the offense didn’t capitalize early. There were breakdowns on defense that assisted the Colts storm back, however likewise more rallying by Christian Parker’s side of the ball to eventually put this in the win column.

Let’s get to some notes on the gut-it-out efficiency in Indy.

For the 2nd straight week, the Cowboys dealt with 16 third-down efforts. The Cowboys have actually dealt with more 3rd downs on offense than their challengers in every video game given that the Packers loss.

Dak Prescott’s third-down fumble in the very first quarter was the 2nd straight week the Cowboys had a dreadful unfavorable play in a development that contacts Javonte Williams to remain in and block. This time around, the Cowboys likewise had Jake Ferguson in the video game. Ferguson was the only pass choice running a hot path versus the pressure the Colts induced this play, yet in some way the defense had a response to bracket him with 2 protectors while likewise getting to Prescott.

The strip sack set the Colts offense up on a brief field they profited from to take a 7-3 lead. The Colts would not get points once again up until midway through the 3rd quarter. While the Cowboys did get 2 goals before this, they likewise punted on all 4 other belongings in this stretch. The goal drive that was available in reaction to being down 10-7 got an unusual Javonte Williams getting play that chose favorable lawns on a 3rd-and-4, then conquered a 2nd-and-19 after a Brevyn Spann-Ford holding charge, and was talented an automated initially down after dealing with 2nd-and-15 on a Tyler Guyton charge. Even after all this, it still took a 4th-and-2 effort at a loss zone to get points on the board with Jake Ferguson’s goal.

The other goal the Cowboys got came a bit simpler, rewarding a drive that saw what seemed like the very first effective scramble drill in a long period of time. Lamb and Prescott made the play when the Cowboys chose to toss on 3rd-and-1, linking on the scramble drill for 22 lawns. One play later on, Lamb supported Charvarius Ward for his 44-yard goal to proceed 17-7.

Once again, the Cowboys felt in control of a video game, however were left rushing and combating for their life to really complete by the 4th quarter.

The Cowboys had an ideal 34/34 run-pass split in this video game, and Dak Prescott’s 9.9 backyards per effort was a season high, however it still seemed like the offense learnt wishing to remain in 3rd downs, makings things hard on themselves yet once again, and not putting the video game away by themselves terms early. Rather, they left it up until late for more QB heroics that paint a clear photo of what this group is actually everything about.

The top thing the Cowboys defense requires to repair following these last 2 wild video games is restricting the dynamite bets goals. 2 weeks in a row, a video game has actually swung in the breeze of a finger due to the fact that any work the defense has actually done up to a point is erased by a long play for a goal. Ashton Dulin’s 55-yard goal on a screen pass vaporized the Cowboys hopes of taking a two-score result in the 4th quarter, and caused another video game that seemed like it might see overtime by the 4th.

Marist Liufau, DaRon Bland, and P.J. Locke were the protectors with the very best possibility to get Dulin on the ground, and none could.

The Cowboys continued to do some fascinating things with Shemar James in this video game, as he was associated with the play where Caleb Downs had a sack, and Locke made a huge stop on 3rd down early in the video game too, however more constant principles is still something keeping back the Dallas D as a system. They require to take on much better.

After the Cowboys offense misused their possibility by missing out on a FG with over 3 minutes staying in the video game, the Cowboys defense required to come up with a stand. The Colts entered into comfy basket variety, however Josh Downs’ third-down drop stopped the clock and the defense had actually held Indy to a 23-20 lead after a basket. The defense did not quit a goal, and they got the ball back to the offense with adequate time to go win the video game.

The other protective willpower point in this heart 4th quarter was obviously Quinnen Williams requiring a fumble on Jonathan Taylor, recuperated by James. We stated entering this match that simply an approximate splash plays from Williams would not suffice. Williams stepped up and made numerous huge plays, none larger than this one, and assisted the Cowboys conquer charges on Bland and Dee Winters prior to the takeaway that made a distinction in which group had simply enough in the tank to win on Sunday.

Kenny Clark even included his name to the splash play list from the protective interior on the last drive, pushing Jones into a deliberate grounding toss that truly damaged the drive and caused Downs’ game-sealing interception. The highly-paid Cowboys protective interior made the plays in crunch time.

The objective for the Cowboys now resets back to precisely what it wanted the Eagles video game, do not get too expensive after a win (versus a perhaps even worse group this time), and remain focused enough to get a win streak begun in front of home fans next Sunday.

To do so, the Cowboys will have to squander no time absorbing not just the excellent things that took place to beat the Colts, however the bad. Fourteen charges for 153 lawns is one thing that ought to be inappropriate even in a win, however the larger and more long-lasting issue is the bad play-calling that marked this video game.

Even while getting Lamb 10 catches on 16 targets for 10 catches and 195 lawns, absolutely nothing beyond Lamb’s long goal seemed like it came simple for the offense. The security strategies were not sound to offer Prescott time to toss when required. The early down aggressiveness to not deal with 16 third-down efforts was not there. Most awful of all, the fixed paths, absence of movement, and variety of pass plays where all of Prescott’s choices were blanketed from start to end up, with receivers not even running hard on a number of these plays, were plentiful.

Today will be informing when it concerns how Lamb’s management is gotten at big by this group, as even after his big day he was more concentrated on what might have gone much better and his expensive fumble. This is the kind of mindset the whole Cowboys group requires to take into the 49ers match, as considerable enhancements from how they played, primarily on offense, will be required to pull that upset. Brian Schottenheimer’s duty for how the offense looks will turn up too, however his postgame locker space technique was rather various in state of mind than Lamb’s.