The Indianapolis Colts had a chance to steal one late, but the Dallas Cowboys walked out with a 27-23 win after the Colts couldn’t finish the job.
That leaves Indianapolis at 2-7 and on a five-game losing streak, a run that keeps stretching with no clear end in sight. Still, this one wasn’t all empty frustration. The Colts’ offense at least clawed its way back into the game after a rough first half, when the passing attack again had trouble getting anything going.
In the second half, Indianapolis finally put together two scoring drives and looked set up for a third before Jonathan Taylor’s fumble stopped that momentum cold. Spencer Shrader then added another field goal late, giving the Colts one more shot at the finish.
Shrader also provided a little redemption after the missed kicks that hurt the team a few weeks ago in Minnesota. This time, he drilled two late kicks when the pressure was on.
The defense, though, had another brutal afternoon. It was the latest game in which the Colts surrendered more than 500 yards, and the unit also had to deal with a Cowboys offense that made life easier by committing 14 penalties for 153 yards.
Even with those Dallas mistakes, the Colts couldn’t get enough stops. Dak Prescott was pressured on 14 of his 38 dropbacks, according to PFF’s early tracking data, and Indianapolis finished with three sacks and seven quarterback hits. But the bigger issue was that the Cowboys still found too many answers, especially through CeeDee Lamb, who caught 10 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, the Colts’ downfield passing game was basically absent. Ashton Dulin’s 55-yard touchdown on a screen pass was the lone real explosion, and outside of that, Indianapolis’ longest pass play went for just 16 yards.
Daniel Jones didn’t get much help either, with the wide receivers and tight ends not seeming to win their matchups. Josh Downs also appeared to have two drops.
The offense had five three-and-outs, which fed into the time-of-possession gap and kept the Colts chasing the game. The run game was slow to get going as well, though Seth McGowan eventually gave the team a spark late, finishing with 45 yards on six carries and a long of 36.
There were a few bright spots on defense. Adetomiwa Adebawore kept turning in strong work, and rookie defensive end Caden Curry made two more notable plays, recovering a fumble and picking up his first NFL sack.
But the Colts needed more than flashes. They needed a clean finish, and they didn’t get it.
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