Tag: Dallas Cowboys vs Indianapolis Colts

A No. 1 WR, vengeful FA and nomad coach walked into the Cowboys’ lives…

The Cowboys 5-star fourth provided many options, but here are the top three celestials from Week 13. | From @cdpiglet

When the Cowboys force opponents to play their brand of football, Dallas is a juggernaut. On Sunday they became the first team in NFL history to both run and throw for 150 yards or more while scoring 25 points in five straight games.

That switch can come quickly, too, as the Indianapolis Colts learned the hard way. With the score 21-19 in the fourth quarter, it seemed liked a game the Colts could steal. They stayed close enough to continue running the ball, they had just put up a touchdown drive that spanned 15 plays for 90 yards and lasted eight minutes. They were rolling and looking for a primetime road game upset and then the Cowboys hit that switch.

Dallas would have a fourth quarter to remember. They rotated touchdowns and turnovers for eight straight possessions. They broke the record for most fourth quarter points scored, going 33-0 in route to a 50 burger and a blowout victory. There were a ton of options for three stars in just the fourth quarter alone, but here were the top three players for the game.

Good, Bad, Ugly: Slow start vs Colts erased thanks to Cowboys rookies

A big night from the rookie class and the running game helped overcome a slow start as the Dallas Cowboys beat the Indianapolis Colts 54-19. | From @BenGrimaldi

It may have taken a little longer to get there but just as the experts expected, the Dallas Cowboys easily defeated the Indianapolis Colts 54-19. The final score looks like the Cowboys embarrassed the Colts, yet it was a close game when the fourth quarter began.

The early script didn’t go as planned for the Cowboys, who allowed the Colts to hang around. It wasn’t an efficient effort on either side of the ball until the Colts got within two points, which seemed to wake Dallas up from its doldrums.

There were flashes of good, and signs the Cowboys were ready to blow the game open, but that didn’t happen until a few rookies stepped up and made their presence known. A four-turnover fourth quarter helped the Cowboys run the Colts out of the building. The final score was indicative of how the seasons have gone for both teams, Indianapolis remained error prone, and the Cowboys were waiting to make them pay on their way to victory.

Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Week 13 win for the Cowboys.

Horseshoes ‘n Spurs: Best pics of Cowboys’ cleats, running Colts through the mud

Is it the shoes?! Dallas won their third in a row in style; not just with a historic 4th, but also in their footwear. Check out the snaps. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The NFL season reaches the quarter pole this week, or its approximate with an uneven 17-game schedule. Courtesy of their historic 33-point fourth quarter on Sunday, Dallas improved to 9-3 on the season with an emphatic 54-19 beatdown of the Indianapolis Colts. It’s something poetic about Cowboys owning a bunch of horses in the way they did.

Week 13 was the NFL’s My Cause, My Cleats weekend, where the normally stuffy league allows some individuality in footwear. Players from Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb to Trevon Diggs and Ezekiel Elliott repped various charities and foundations with their shoewear. Here’s the collection of great pics from the photogs of USA Today and Getty Images from the shoes to the action.

Oklahoma CeeDee Lamb showed up Sunday and it was glorious to watch

There’s something extra appropriate about watching a CeeDee get his groove on. Lamb has been on an upswing and may have ascended Sunday. | From @TimLettiero

With Week 13 in the books the 2022 Dallas Cowboys look as dominant on each side of the ball as they ever have. Playing at home on Sunday night, they took on the struggling Indianapolis Colts who had lost four of their last five. Dallas made it their mission to make that five of six and did so with conviction.

After a sluggish start, Dallas established a halftime lead, but allowed it to shrink to a two-point lead thanks to a failed two-point conversion. Then the lights came on and before anyone knew it, 54-19. Throughout the game, there was one player on Dallas’ offense who routinely seized the day. WR CeeDee Lamb has evolved into a true No. 1 and on Sunday he looked like a player comfortable and thriving in that role.

Lamb was consistent and showed elite shiftiness with the ball in his hands. It was a full game that showcased the mesmerizing ability that made him a first-round pick.

Discipline or strategy? Ezekiel Elliott didn’t start for Cowboys vs Colts; explanations differ

Tony Pollard took the first snaps vs Indy; Elliott cited a desire to switch things up, but Jerry Jones said Elliott broke a team rule. | From @ToddBrock24f7

When the Cowboys offense took the field for the first time Sunday night, it was also the first time for something else.

Ezekiel Elliott was standing on the sideline. Active and available. Not injured. But technically not starting at running back.

Tony Pollard got the first carry of the game. Elliott wouldn’t see his first action until the offense’s seventh snap.

There are differing explanations as to why.

Team owner Jerry Jones said after the 54-19 win that the two-time rushing champ had violated a team rule during the week, leading to him not starting for the first time in his career when he was otherwise healthy and active.

Elliott, however, told reporters that the Cowboys’ coaches simply switched things up.

Ultimately, it didn’t seem to matter much. Elliott and Pollard went on to split carries fairly evenly on the night and turn in similar stat lines in the big win- 17 attempts and 77 yards for Elliott; 12 rushes for 91 yards by Pollard. Pollard had two touchdowns; Elliott added another during the fourth-quarter barrage.

But in a year when so much has been made of the team’s tandem ground attack and so much dissection of both their running styles and gameday results- especially with questions about both players futures with the club- it did raise a few eyebrows that Elliott started the game as a spectator.

Whether it was punishment or part of a master plan, though, depends on who you ask.

“I think there was a little issue that he had with his coach and some discipline issues,” Jones told reporters Sunday night. “Being tardy for a meeting or a phone going off or something serious, relative to Zeke.”

The 80-year-old admitted that he personally wouldn’t have benched Elliott for such a minor infraction, saying, “I’d be a lot more lenient than that.”

But Jones was quick to point out that it was not a “demotion” and that the incident was “nothing of consequence,” adding that Elliott has had “no behavior issues” within the building.

Not taking the first snap did seem to be the extent of the punishment, as Elliott actually played more total snaps than Pollard, 38 to 28.

Quarterback Dak Prescott brushed off any importance to the whole matter, hinted that the switcheroo was Elliott’s own idea, and joked that Elliott even found a silver lining to coming in late.

“He said going in there second, those guys weren’t as fresh and he was able to bully up on them a little bit more than usual,” Prescott said in his postgame press conference. “At this point, I don’t think it matters who goes in there on the first play of the game.”

The two Cowboys backs currently rank 16th and 17th in the NFL in rushing attempts on the season, and both are in the top 20 in rushing yards. Pollard’s 5.8-yard-per-carry average is fifth-best in the league, while just seven ball carriers have more rushing scores than Elliott’s eight.

“Those two guys have zero ego,” Prescott continued. “They’re each other’s biggest supporters and biggest fans. They’re a special duo… and they’re huge for this team, so it doesn’t matter who’s getting the first snap.”

But it will almost certainly matter to much of the Cowboys fanbase, who will use it all as fuel for the never-ending argument about which back should be the featured rusher in Dallas.

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Cowboys’ Dak Prescott passes Staubach, White in TDs but wants championships

An efficient Prescott has used short fields to collect touchdowns if not passing yards this season but is now 3rd on a historic list. | From @ToddBrock24f7

On a night when the Cowboys posted the first 50-point game of the NFL season, it’s perhaps surprising to dive deeper into the box score and see that the winning quarterback threw for just 170 yards.

It certainly surprised Cowboys starter Dak Prescott.

Speaking with reporters from the podium following a blowout victory over Indianapolis, Prescott had to get confirmation of his stats in the middle of an answer about whether his own game was off in the 54-19 win.

“170? Geez, that’s it?” Prescott muttered. “Yeah, my game was… ugh.”

Three touchdowns is nothing to groan about, especially on a winning night when Prescott also passed franchise legends Roger Staubach and Danny White in career scoring passes.

But more on that in a minute.

Even though his total yardage is down this season, Prescott has been accurate overall. His 67.9% completion percentage is seventh-best in the league, and his touchdown throws per pass attempt rank third out of all NFL passers.

That said, it’s usually the misses that haunt him.

 

Prescott threw one interception on the night and needed a favorable replay review to avoid a second.

“The throw over there to the right, to CeeDee, obviously you want that back. Should’ve been picked. And then the interception, that’s another… Just trust, honestly. That’s a trust throw against a great cornerback who made a great play, and I went over to MG and said, ‘Hey, I’ll do that again. If you’re crossing face, I’m throwing it right there and just expect you to do that.’ That’s the confidence I have in myself , the confidence that I have in these receivers. Just didn’t throw it to my expectations. Luckily, we’ve got a great team and a great defense like this, and I’ll make sure I learn from this as I always do and respond.”

It was the Dallas defense who did a lot of responding Sunday night, recording five takeaways, scoring a touchdown of their own, and holding their ninth opponent of the season to 20 points or under.

“They played a great game all game long,” Prescott said of the defense, “giving us opportunities when we went three-and-out at times. I throw an interception; they hold them to a field goal. They played a hell of a game.”

And, as it turns out, they were also one of the reasons Prescott’s passing yardage wasn’t higher.

Of the team’s 12 offensive possessions, five of them started at the Cowboys’ own 40 or better. Hard to throw for a ton of yards when you’re working a short field for half the night.

“That’s what we have to do, honestly. When they’re playing that way, they’re getting us turnovers, getting short fields. We’ve got to go get touchdowns.”

And once the fourth-quarter onslaught started, putting the ball in the air became unnecessary. The Cowboys attempted just one throw in the final 10 minutes of play; the game’s final four touchdowns came on Malik Hooker’s defensive scoop-and-score and three runs from Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott, and Malik Davis.

“That’s kind of the recipe for us, honestly,” Prescott told media members Sunday night. “When we’re able to get up a couple scores, allow that D-line to hunt, and they’ll just create turnovers from that and you’ll see a lot of points.”

Now third in touchdown throws as a Cowboy, Prescott will likely overtake three-time Super Bowl champ Troy Aikman before the season is out to take second place.

But Prescott knows names like Staubach and Aikman have something on their résumés that he is still lacking. And he’s focused on something far bigger than his own personal totals.

“The way the game’s played today is completely different from the way those guys played it,” Prescott told reporters. “Obviously, it’s humbling to be third on such a historic list, but I’m just worried about wins. Let me know when I pass those guys in wins. Or championships.”

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Cowboys’ Malik Hooker exacts revenge on former team: ‘Felt like it was due’

The safety logged 2 takeaways and scored his first-ever TD against the team that drafted him 15th overall. “It was special,” he admitted. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Sometimes life unfolds- all by itself- in a way that no Hollywood screenwriter would even attempt to pen, for fear of it being simply too fantastic for anyone to believe.

All that was missing from the blockbuster night Malik Hooker turned in was a chart-topping soundtrack and him literally riding off into the sunset after personally sticking it to his former team.

The Cowboys safety started the evening as one of the team’s captains, representing the defense against the very club that drafted him in the first round in 2015. He finished with his second interception of the season and his first-ever touchdown, the result of a fumble recovery and 38-yard return that was part of a record-setting 33-point fourth quarter for Dallas.

“I knew I was gonna make some plays, but plays like that — I wouldn’t dream in a million years,” said Hooker, per the team website. “I wasn’t expecting that, but I’m happy I performed the way I did, for the sake of the defense.”

No Cowboys defender had had a pick and a scoop-and-score in the same game since 1983, a full 13 years before Hooker was even born.

That’s a lot of backstory to overcome in one plot-twist moment, and the safety was definitely cognizant of his own personal history with Sunday evening’s antagonist.

“It was special,” Hooker said. “To be able to go out there and perform against the team that drafted me, that believed in me, it was special for me to go out there and perform like that. It was definitely a game for me that I wanted to perform [well] in, and not just because it was the Colts. I just felt like it was due … I just wanted to put my best foot forward.”

That he did, and the rest of the defense followed suit, notching five takeaways, recording three sacks, holding 2021 rushing champ Jonathan Taylor to his lowest yardage total in a month, and keeping their opponent to under 20 points for the eighth time in 12 games.

“The message for me today was, ‘If you’re a big dog, be a big dog today.’ And I feel like that showed up,” the veteran said in his post-game remarks.

But the safety was quick to credit the even bigger dogs on the Cowboys defensive line for whatever highlights he was able to be a part of on the back end.

“Those guys were just after it up front,” the Ohio State alum explained. “If you watch the game from beginning to the end, those guys were dominant up front. They were creating a lot of those takeaways, forcing the quarterback to have to get the ball out faster than he wanted to. When you do that, the timing of the routes is off, and that’s when tipped passes and sack-fumbles and all that stuff comes along. Hats off to the D-line, because that’s where that stuff came from today, I feel like.”

And Hooker believes that with the cast of supporting characters around him on the Cowboys defense, there could be a few sequels to Sunday’s monster 54-19 win still to come before this season is over.

And maybe even the ultimate storybook ending.

“There ain’t no ceiling,” Hooker said of this Cowboys defense. “We’re still hitting our stride. We feel like we still had some mistakes in that game… We’ve got a lot of guys from top to bottom that are capable of dominating the game. We’re just going to keep putting our best foot forward to build off of that.”

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Cowboys CB Anthony Brown tears Achilles, here’s who Dallas could turn to

A look at the limited in-house and external solutions as Dallas will be without their veteran corner for the rest of 2022. | From @KDDrummondNFL

With all free-agency eyes focused on Monday’s visit of wideout Odell Beckham, the Dallas Cowboys may have to consider lining up even more visits. During their 54-19 romp of the Indianpolis Colts, Dallas did have some bad news. Starting boundary corner Anthony Brown was lost for the season with a ruptured Achilles.

Team owner Jerry Jones confirmed the news post game. Brown was not having a great season, but his loss will be monumental for the Cowboys.

Dallas has been hesitant to put 2021 second-round pick Kelvin Joseph on the field for any extended time except for when Brown has been injured. Joseph was involved in a fight that ended up with murder charges being placed against two of his friends who he was riding with when the fatal shots were fired. That happened in the spring but it’s hardly the only reason he’s yet to earn more playing time.

Initially, he’ll get a chance to earn the starting gig opposite Trevon Diggs with rookie DaRon Bland continuing to play in place of Jourdan Lewis. Lewis was lost for the season six weeks ago with a Lisfranc injury to his foot. Now Dallas will be woefully inexperienced aside from Diggs.

Will that mean the club looks outside the organization to bring in some veteran depth? Here’s a look at some of the possibilities.

50 Burger! Twitter reactions to Cowboys’ surgical dismantling of Colts

The Cowboys served up 54 points, 3 sacks, 5 takeaways and broke the Colts in the second half. Here’s how Twitter reacted throughout. | From @ProfessorO_NFL

The Cowboys moved to 9-3 on the season with an impressive 54-19 defeat of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football. Dallas scored a team record 33 points in the fourth quarter and generated 220 yards rushing with five takeaways and three sacks.

Rookie cornerback DaRon Bland came up with two interceptions and veteran free safety Malik Hooker had a huge game in his first action against the team that drafted him. Hooker had a fumble recovery for a touchdown and an interception. Meanwhile on offense, Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott and Malik Davis combined for four rushing touchdowns.

In a blowout win, the Cowboys flexed their might in the fourth quarter and Twitter reacted to all of it. Without further adieu, here are the best reactions to the Cowboys dominant win over the Colts.

WATCH: Bland’s INT followed by Cowboys’ latest kettle celebration TD

DaRon Bland’s second takeaway led to a Ezekiel Elliott touchdown, which was followed by the latest iteration of the kettle celebration. | From @CDBurnett7

When the Cowboys have gained momentum in 2022, it’s turned into an avalanche. The Colts are the latest to get caught in it. After cornerback DaRon Bland’s first interception of the night led to a score, the fifth-round pick decided it wasn’t enough.

Bland was in coverage on the clearly larger Ashton Dulin and he ripped the ball away anyways for his second interception of the night. Following the score, Dallas kept their foot on the neck of Indianapolis. Quarterback Dak Prescott targeted wide receiver Noah Brown on the third play of the drive and a defensive pass interference set up the Cowboys in opposing territory.

With the game already decided, the fans were still hungry. As Dallas neared the end zone, chants of “Zeke” were clear on the broadcast and the team entertained it. Running back Ezekiel Elliott added to the dominant night with a touchdown run but the highlight was what followed. A week after the viral tight end celebration at The Salvation Army kettle, Prescott and Elliott joined the fun with a jack-in-the-box celebration.

The Cowboys played with their food early and now it’s a statement fourth quarter with a 47-19 lead as the ninth Dallas win is secured.