Javonte Williams scored on a 1-yard run with 1:08 left after the Colts let him walk into the end zone, CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 195 yards, and the Dallas Cowboys beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-23 on Sunday, November 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Dallas improves to 4-5, a week after blowing a 14-point lead in an overtime home loss to Arizona, and has now won two of its last five. Indianapolis falls to 2-7 with its fifth straight loss, possibly the last game in Colts uniforms for quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Jonathan Taylor, both mentioned in trade talk ahead of Tuesday’s deadline.
Lamb carries the first half
Brandon Aubrey opened the scoring with a 45-yard field goal, but Dak Prescott lost a fumble at his own 19, and rookie Seth McGowan ran in from 2 yards out for a 7-3 Colts lead. Prescott answered early in the second quarter with a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jake Ferguson, then hit Lamb for a 44-yard score with 21 seconds left in the half. Indianapolis went to the locker room trailing 17-7 to boos.
Lamb could have had even more. On a second deep ball he failed to get both feet down in the end zone, and on another play, realizing he had not been touched after going to the ground, he got up and ran inside the Colts 15 before fumbling the ball away. Taylor lost a fumble of his own that cost Indianapolis a scoring chance.
Colts rally, then let Dallas score
Spencer Shrader and Aubrey traded third-quarter field goals before Ashton Dulin caught a short pass from Jones, made two defenders miss and ran 55 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, cutting it to 20-17 late in the period. Shrader then made a 59-yard field goal to tie it with 5:56 left and a 50-yarder for a 23-20 lead with 1:37 to go, and another Cowboys fourth-quarter collapse seemed possible.
It took Prescott 29 seconds to fix it. He found Ryan Flournoy for 46 yards, two Colts penalties moved the ball to the 1, and coach Shane Steichen chose to let Williams score so his team would get the ball back with time on the clock. “Yeah, we let them score,” Steichen said. “They’ve got four shots from the 1-yard line.” The gamble did not pay off: rookie safety Caleb Downs intercepted Jones with 35 seconds left, in front of 15 family members who came to watch him face his older brother, Colts receiver Josh Downs.
The numbers
- Dak Prescott: 21 of 34 for 335 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, plus a lost fumble.
- CeeDee Lamb: 10 catches on 16 targets for 195 yards and a touchdown, the second-highest yardage total of his career.
- Javonte Williams: 20 carries for 101 yards and the winning touchdown, his second 100-yard game of the season. Tyler Goodson added 77 yards on 12 carries.
- Daniel Jones: 20 of 34 for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Taylor had 46 yards on 13 carries.
- Spencer Shrader: 3 for 3 on field goals, from 47, 59 and 50 yards.
- Penalties: Dallas was flagged 14 times for 153 yards, its most since 2021, including an unsportsmanlike conduct call on inactive linebacker DeMarvion Overshown for running onto the field in street clothes to celebrate a takeaway.
- Team totals: Dallas outgained Indianapolis 508-271 and held the ball for 35:43.
What it means
“It wasn’t the prettiest, it wasn’t the best second half from the whole team, but we got it done,” Prescott said. Taylor, asked about the possibility of a trade, said he hoped Colts fans “know that I appreciate them.” Keenan Allen passed Tim Brown for eighth on the league’s career receptions list with his four catches, giving him 1,095.
Dallas played without three inactive starters, including receiver George Pickens, and lost Ferguson to a left knee injury in the third quarter. Colts linebacker Jaylon Carlies (neck) and right tackle Jalen Travis (knee) left in the first half and did not return.
What comes next
Dallas opens a three-game homestand against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, November 15. Indianapolis hosts the Miami Dolphins the same day.
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