INDIANAPOLIS – We saw a similar movie last week. This time, the ending was a little different.
The Dallas Cowboys still have a ways to go to be a legitimate playoff contender. Nothing that happened on Sunday changes things. But it was a 27-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
“I loved the heart,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “The best way to learn to win is to win. And to finish. This game is crazy. Professional football is crazy. … The men in this locker room were not going to let us lose.”
The Colts entered as one of the worst teams in the NFL. They are one of eight teams who have not won more than two games. Their loss to the Cowboys was their fifth in a row as they recently traded franchise cornerstones Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.
But they put up quite a battle, as the Arizona Cardinals (3-6) did a week ago. Last week, the Cardinals erased a two-touchdown deficit in the fourth quarter to ultimately defeat the Cowboys in overtime, 33-30. On Sunday, the Colts erased a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter to take a 23-20 lead with 1:37 to play.
This time, Dak Prescott and company responded. A 65-yard touchdown run in four plays gave Dallas the lead back for good. The most important play of the series, and the entire game, was Prescott’s deep ball to Ryan Flournoy for a 46-yard gain on first down. Dallas’ No. 3 receiver, behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, caught the pass with one hand as Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner was wrapped around him.
Defensively, Dallas received strong performances from two of the group’s key players, veteran defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and rookie defensive back Caleb Downs. Williams led the team with seven tackles, three tackles for loss and one quarterback hit. Downs recorded his second sack of the season and first career interception, sealing the game in the final minute.
“We have to play like it’s our responsibility every play,” Downs said. “We have to play like our defense is the last stand. Let there be no offense. We just play separate games, and that’s what we have to do. People can say what they want, but when we play well, we’re a good football team.”
The Cowboys entered the game with surprising inactives, led by Pickens, who is dealing with a hamstring injury. Defensive starters Joey Porter Jr. (foot) and DeMarvion Overshown (back and hamstring) were also inactive. All three were questionable entering the match.
Without Pickens, Lamb still managed to maintain his impressive production, hitting 10 of 16 targets for 195 yards and a touchdown. The running game has also returned to normal after managing just 2.4 yards per carry against the Cardinals. Javonte Williams and Tyler Goodson combined for 178 yards on 5.6 yards per carry.
The most important area to clean up is sanctions. Dallas finished with 14 for 153 yards, the most notable being a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after Overshown, who was not in uniform, ran onto the field to celebrate a fumble recovery by Shemar James in the fourth quarter.
“We’re going to look at them all,” Schottenheimer said. “I want to see what they all look like. This is a team that hasn’t called a lot of penalties. There have been a lot of penalties called, so I want to watch the film before talking about it.”
The victory against the Colts improves the Cowboys’ record to 4-5, second place in the NFC East behind the New York Giants (5-2-1). But the toughest test so far and arguably the toughest of the year awaits next Sunday when Dallas hosts the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers.
The Cowboys have almost no chance if they play like they have the last four weeks. The 49ers will be the real test of how this Dallas team stacks up against the best in the league. Early betting lines have San Francisco around a 4.5-point favorite.
“The 49ers are a good football team,” Schottenheimer said. “Every team in this league is good. That’s why there’s so much parity. That’s why it’s such a popular sport. But we’re going to enjoy this game. See what we can find to clean up. I think again the defense did a good job with the takeaways. We had the two turnovers there. We have to win the turnover battle. But we’re going to enjoy this one and get ready for San Francisco starting (Monday).”
How ready does Prescott think the Cowboys are for a matchup with San Francisco?
“We’ll see,” he said. “We have to be ready. We’ve had our ups and downs, and we understand that this is a good opponent coming in, an NFC opponent, and we’ll have them at home. So we have to make sure we have a good week of preparation to put ourselves in the best position to go out there and get the win. And at the end of the day, whatever it takes, if it ends like this, whatever it takes, it doesn’t matter, everybody, every man in that locker room, the staff of coaches, the support staff must keep in mind that we must win.
Until then, there is a key date. Tuesday marks the trade deadline for the NFL. The Cowboys have said since the start of training camp that they are open for business. They proved it by trading second and sixth round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Porter on September 30.
It’s unlikely that Dallas would be interested in trading players to get draft picks.
“We’re focused on making our team better to be successful,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan. “If we saw the right thing that could help us, our goal would be to make this team better and be successful here as the season goes on. We have a lot of football left.”
Pass rusher is the primary need in Dallas. The offense should not see any notable changes. Prescott believes the Cowboys already have enough to be a playoff team.
“Yes, I do,” he said. “Obviously, credit Jerry (Jones), credit the front office and those guys. If you can still add, go for it. Even if you think you’ve had enough, if you can make sure you’ve had enough and you’re getting better, go for it. I encourage that. But yeah, they’ve done a heck of a job with the team they’ve put together. It’s ours now. Period.”
The Cowboys were unable to build on their previous success. They haven’t had back-to-back wins in almost a year. Their most difficult task awaits them on Sunday. This is a chance to see how they will look against a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
This article was originally published in The Athletic.
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