5 reasons the Cowboys will beat the Colts in Week 13

Thanksgiving is behind us, as the Dallas Cowboys improved to 8-3 on the season with a win over the New York Giants. They now face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 13, who come off a Monday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Dallas is in the toughest division in the NFC right now, as all four teams would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. For that reason, they can’t afford any slip-ups against teams they’re better than — as was the case when they lost to the Green Bay Packers.

That shouldn’t be a problem here, as the Cowboys have several advantages. Here are five reasons to believe win No. 9 is on the way.

5 reasons the Cowboys will beat the Colts in Week 13

5. Cowboys have a major coaching advantage

It’s kind of hard not to feel for Jeff Saturday. The Colts added him as their interim coach, and the decision was controversial for several reasons, including the fact that he has no experience whatsoever (above an unsuccessful stint in high school). While there are plenty of reasons to hate the hire, no one is turning down the opportunity he was given. We can’t blame him for shooting for the moon.

Unfortunately, it’s already clear he’s not ready for this role. He’s 1-2, as he’s lost to the Eagles and Steelers after defeating the Raiders in his debut. The impressive part is that his team has been close in each game, but they have failed to close things out, and Saturday’s inexperience is a major reason for that.

As for Dallas, they have a Super Bowl-winning coach roaming their sidelines in Mike McCarthy. He’s coached a total of 248 games in 16 years. He’s also won 10 playoff games with nine losses — meaning he has three times as many losses in the playoffs as Saturday has experience on an NFL sideline in any coaching capacity.

The Colts might be able to hang with Dallas for a while, as they did in their past two games, but in the end, coaching matters. The home team has a huge advantage there.