INDIANAPOLIS (AP) With the Dallas Cowboys trailing by three and on the verge of collapsing again in the fourth quarter, Dak Prescott needed 29 seconds to bail them out.
He connected with Ryan Flournoy on a 46-yard pass. Three plays and two Indianapolis penalties later, the Indianapolis Colts let Javonte Williams waltz in from 1 yard out with 1:08 left, and the Cowboys held on for a 27-23 victory a week after blowing a 14-point lead and losing in overtime to Arizona at home.
Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Williams refused to let that happen again.
“We made it happen,” Prescott said. “It wasn’t the prettiest, it wasn’t the best second half of the whole team, but we got there. We said at the start of the game, whatever it takes to get a win and we did it.”
The Cowboys (4-5) won for just the second time in five games, and it was a day they dominated the stat sheet. They outgained the Colts 508 yards to 271. CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 195 yards – the second-highest total of his career. And Williams finished with 101 rushing yards, his second 100-yard game.
Dallas also made enough mistakes to lose.
The Cowboys were flagged 14 times for 153 yards, their highest total since 2021. The total even included an unsportsmanlike conduct call against inactive linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who ran onto the field in street clothes to celebrate a takeaway.
Lamb made a 44-yard TD catch with 21 seconds left in the first half, but failed to get both feet down on a potential second TD catch and cost Dallas another chance to score when he realized he hadn’t been hit, got up and ran inside the Colts 15-yard line – only to fumble the ball.
Prescott, who was 21 of 34 for 335 yards and two touchdowns, lost a fumble at the Dallas 19-yard line that set up Indy’s first touchdown.
But Dallas overcame all those mistakes — and Indy’s Spencer Shrader made field goals of 59 and 50 yards in the final six minutes, which left Dallas in a 23-20 deficit with 1:37 left.
Four plays and two Colts penalties later, the Cowboys were back on top – thanks in part to Colts coach Shane Steichen, who made the strategic decision to give his team the ball with time remaining for a game-winning drive.
“Yeah, we let them score,” Steichen said. “I mean, they have four shots from the one-yard line, so we have a chance to get the ball back. Otherwise, they’re bleeding time.”
If Sunday was the last game against Indy for quarterback Daniel Jones or running back Jonathan Taylor, both of whom could be dealt before Tuesday’s deadline, it wasn’t the ending they wanted.
Taylor rushed 13 times for 46 yards and lost a fumble that cost Indy (2-6) a scoring chance. Jones was picked off by Caleb Downs with 35 seconds left to seal the game and finished 20 of 34 for 180 yards with a touchdown as the Colts lost their fifth straight.
“I just hope they appreciate it and know that I appreciate them,” Taylor said of Colts fans. “They should know it was a pleasure to showcase my hard work and that of the team.”
Fans booed Indy again as he headed to the locker at halftime with the score 17-7.
But after the teams traded field goals in the third quarter, Ashton Dulin caught a short pass from Jones, made two defenders miss and sprinted down the sideline for a 55-yard score to cut the deficit 20-17 late in the third to set up a thrilling finish.
“It’s nice to clean things up with a win,” Prescott said. “The way to be consistent is to get back to work and make sure we do everything right, the discipline and the details, and make sure we play better.”
Cowboys: Three starters, including receiver George Pickens, were inactive. There has also been speculation about the possibility of trading Pickens. The most serious injury on Sunday was to tight end Jake Ferguson, who did not return after injuring his left knee in the third quarter.
Colts: Linebacker Jaylon Carlies (neck) and right tackle Jalen Travis (knee) left in the first half and did not return.
Fifteen members of the Downs family attended the game to watch his younger brother Caleb get the better of Colts receiver Josh Downs. It was the first time the brothers had faced each other since their prep days in Georgia. Yes, they lined up against each other and, yes, there was trash talk long before Caleb Downs’ game-clinching interception.
Indy’s Keenan Allen passed Hall of Famer Tim Brown for 8th place on the league’s career receptions list. Allen finished with four catches for 26 yards, giving him 1,095 receptions – one more than Brown.
Cowboys: Start a three-game homestand next Sunday against San Francisco.
Colts: Host Miami next Sunday in what could be a clash of rebuilding teams.
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