The Colts had a chance to steal one from the Cowboys on Sunday, and for a few tense minutes it looked like they might actually do it. Indianapolis clawed back, grabbed a late three-point lead, and then watched it disappear in a 27-23 loss that will send plenty of attention toward Tuesday’s trade deadline.
That’s where the Colts sit now at 2-7: with the deadline looming and plenty of uncertainty about how many players could be on the move next week.
The final blow came with Sauce Gardner in the spotlight. The Colts cornerback was isolated against Ryan Flournoy, a sixth-round pick in 2024 who was thrust into a bigger role because Dallas was without George Pickens. Gardner had already survived one shaky moment earlier, when he failed to get his head around on a throw to CeeDee Lamb that fell incomplete only because Lamb didn’t get both feet down.
The bigger miss came after Indianapolis had taken a 23-20 lead on a Spencer Shrader field goal. Dak Prescott went deep to Flournoy in 1-on-1 coverage, and Gardner looked to be in position. But he never found the ball, and Flournoy came down with a 46-yard catch that flipped the game and gave Dallas a chance to go for the winning touchdown instead of settling for a tying field goal.
Gardner was supposed to be the “prize” of the 2025 trade deadline.
Days before the 2026 deadline, Gardner showed why he wasn’t worth what the Colts paid to get him.
CeeDee Lamb was the other major problem Indianapolis had to deal with, and the Colts never really solved him. The Dallas receiver finished with 10 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, though he also had a couple of self-inflicted setbacks. He was flagged twice for offensive pass interference, and one of those penalties helped slow down what could have been an even bigger night.
Still, Lamb delivered the kind of explosive plays that kept Dallas in control. One of the strangest came late in the first half, when Charvarius Ward appeared to hand him off to strong safety Hunter Wohler. Lamb found himself wide open and turned that into a 48-yard touchdown.
Then came one of the oddest sequences of the NFL season so far. Under pressure on third-and-long, Prescott threw a wounded duck toward Lamb near the sideline, and the receiver made a diving catch just before the ball hit the ground. Kenneth Harris didn’t touch him down, Lamb popped back up and raced for 48 yards - only to lose the ball at the end of the run, with the fumble going to Harris and wiping out the gain.
Jonathan Taylor was supposed to have the kind of matchup that could tilt the game in Indianapolis’ favor. Dallas came in with the NFL’s worst run defense, last in the league in yards allowed and second-to-last in yards per carry. Instead, the Colts couldn’t take advantage.
Taylor managed just 46 yards on 13 carries, never breaking a run longer than seven yards. Indianapolis had trouble controlling the line of scrimmage, and the absence of Quenton Nelson seemed to matter. Taylor also had the game’s biggest turnover, getting swallowed up by Quinnen Williams at the line and fumbling away a drive that could have put the Colts ahead.
Backup running back Seth McGowan ended up providing the biggest rushing plays for Indianapolis, including a touchdown and a 36-yard burst later in the game.
The Cowboys also made life easier on the Colts than they should have with their own mistakes. Dallas was penalized 14 times for 153 yards, a mess of discipline issues that repeatedly knocked the offense off schedule, erased plays and gave Indianapolis extra chances to stay close despite another rough outing from its own offense.
Most of those flags were straightforward, with the exception of the two Lamb penalties, which seemed minor. Either way, Dallas kept shooting itself in the foot, and the Colts hung around until the end.
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