The Cowboys got the win in Indianapolis, but that didn’t stop the heat from landing on Brian Schottenheimer.
After Dallas escaped Lucas Oil Stadium with a 27-23 victory over the Colts, NFL and draft analyst Connor Livesay unloaded on X. He wrote, “Brian Schottenheimer should be buried alive after this one.
Culture sucks. Play calling sucks.
Scheme sucks. Team sucks.”
That blast came despite the Cowboys outgaining Indianapolis 508 yards to 271 and taking a 17-7 lead into halftime. Livesay’s point was simple: this wasn’t about losing to a strong opponent. It was about nearly letting a 2-6 team that had dropped four straight games and already dealt away Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner hang around until the final minute.
Dallas made life harder on itself all afternoon. The Cowboys were penalized 14 times for 153 yards, their highest total since 2021.
DeMarvion Overshown, who was inactive and in street clothes, ran onto the field to celebrate Quinnen Williams’ forced fumble and got hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Dak Prescott also put the Colts in business when he lost a fumble at his own 19, setting up Indianapolis’ first touchdown.
CeeDee Lamb was brilliant and frustrating all at once. He finished with 10 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown, then coughed up a drive after getting back up and running on a play he believed was over. Brandon Aubrey later missed a 50-yard field goal with the game tied at 20, keeping the door open.
Prescott answered quickly when it mattered most. He needed just 29 seconds to move Dallas back in front, connecting with Ryan Flournoy for 46 yards on a one-handed grab against Sauce Gardner, then watching Javonte Williams punch in a 1-yard touchdown with 1:08 left. Caleb Downs finished it off with his first career interception.
The criticism wasn’t new. After Dallas blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead in a 33-30 overtime loss to Arizona, Livesay posted that there “isn't a player you can add to make up for the ineptitude of Brian Schottenheimer.”
Schottenheimer, for his part, leaned into the win. “I loved the heart,” he said afterward.
“The best way to learn how to win is to win. And to finish.
… The men in that locker room weren't gonna let us lose.”
He also wasn’t ready to go deep on the penalty issues before seeing the film. “We’re going to take a look at all of them,” he said.
“I want to see what they all look like. This is a crew that hadn't called a lot of penalties.
There were a lot of penalties called, so I want to look at the film before I speak on it.”
The bigger picture still isn’t flattering for Dallas. The Cowboys are 4-5 and have not won back-to-back games this season. Per Cowboys Wire, they’ve dropped from 14th to 30th in pre-snap motion, from 17th to 32nd in motion at the snap, and they sit 31st in run-block win rate.
There was at least one encouraging sign on the ground in Indianapolis. Dallas ran for 179 yards at 5.3 per carry, with Javonte Williams going for 101 and Tyler Goodson adding 77 before a knee injury ended his day.
Whether that run game is a real step forward or just a one-week spike will be tested Sunday, when the 7-1 San Francisco 49ers come to AT&T Stadium. Schottenheimer’s message after the Colts game was to savor the result first and sort out the mess later.
“We're going to enjoy this game,” he said. “See what we can figure out to clean up.”
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