The Dallas Cowboys head to Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 9 with plenty on the line, and not much margin for error. Indianapolis is trying to stop a four-game slide, while Dallas is coming off a brutal loss to the Arizona Cardinals after blowing a big fourth-quarter lead and falling in overtime.
The Colts have their own mess to sort through. They dropped their fourth straight game in Week 8 to the Jacksonville Jaguars, and they’re only days away from possibly moving even more players before the deadline. That makes this one feel like a crossroads game for both sides, especially for Dallas, which could be staring at a tougher decision on Tuesday if it loses to a Colts team that’s been reeling.
Even with all that, the general read on this matchup is clear: Dallas should win it. The Cowboys have been shaky all season, but this is the kind of game they’re expected to handle. If they can get out fast, Indianapolis could start looking like a team ready to pack it in.
Still, this isn’t a clean setup for Dallas. The Colts have Jonathan Taylor, and he’s an elite running back.
That matters because the Cowboys have the worst run defense in the NFL, which gives Indianapolis a real path to keep this game uncomfortable. The only hope for Dallas is that Taylor sees limited work, with the Colts wanting to protect him as the trade deadline nears.
Even if Taylor gets a full workload, the Cowboys should have answers on the other side. Indianapolis doesn’t defend the run well, and it’s going to have a hard time dealing with CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy.
So while this one figures to stay tighter than Dallas would like, the prediction still leans the Cowboys’ way. The expectation is that Dallas escapes Indianapolis with a win.
In Other News...
Cowboys Tight End Is Going Viral For An Unexpected Reason
Brevyn Spann-Ford has quietly become one of the more interesting depth pieces on the Cowboys roster this season, appearing in every game after arriving as an undrafted free agent out of Minnesota. While his on-field role has been steady, the rookie tight end has started drawing attention for something far outside the usual football conversation, thanks to a comment from his girlfriend, Madison Kaiser, a forward for the University of Minnesota womens hockey team.
Kaiser is no ordinary college athlete, either. She has represented Team USA in international competition and built an impressive resume with the Golden Gophers, which only adds to why the exchange caught on so quickly. For Dallas, it is another reminder that Spann-Fords profile is growing in more ways than one, even if the reason making the rounds has little to do with blocking schemes or red-zone targets. [Read more 🡒]
Brandon Aubrey Is Giving Cowboys Fans A Costly New Concern
The Cowboys escaped Indianapolis with a comeback win, but Brandon Aubreys miss from 50 yards became the kind of moment that lingers after the celebration fades. Dallas had been trailing late in the fourth quarter when the kick sailed wide, opening the door for the Colts to briefly grab the lead before the Cowboys answered with the winning touchdown.
For a kicker who recently landed a contract extension that made him the highest-paid player at his position, the miss only adds to a growing concern around his long-distance reliability. Aubrey has now come up short on multiple deep field goal tries since last season, and for a team that expects to keep playing tight games, that is not a small detail. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Escaped With A Win But One Problem Looks Worse
The Cowboys got out of Indianapolis with a 27-23 win, but the kind of mistakes that usually come back to bite a team were all over the place. Dallas had moments of success on the ground, yet the offense never settled in cleanly, with turnovers and penalties repeatedly undercutting drives and making a tight game feel even shakier than it needed to be.
On the other side, the defense gave up several big plays and spent long stretches trying to recover from them, even as the Cowboys found a way to close it out late in the fourth quarter. A win is a win, especially on the road, but this was the sort of performance that leaves one obvious issue hanging over the next week: the margin for error is getting awfully thin. [Read more 🡒]