Well, the Cowboys have officially hit a new low under head coach Brian Schottenheimer following a humiliating 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys led the game 24-10 early in the fourth 4th quarter, but the defense had no answer for journeyman quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who hit Trey McBride and Michael Wilson for touchdowns to send the game to OT.
Dallas now heads to Lucas Oil Stadium to face the Colts, who are also struggling with a 2-6 record after getting thumped by the Jacksonville Jaguars 42-7 last weekend. Trade rumors abound concerning franchise tailback Jonathan Taylor, who has been the bell cow and focal point for their offense since he was drafted in the first round from Wisconsin in 2020.
Here are three keys that can get the Cowboys back in the win column and firmly put that horrific loss behind them as we near the midway point of the NFL season.
3 keys to a bounceback game for the Cowboys against the Colts
1. It always starts with containing Jonathan Taylor
The Colts have never made it a secret that they want to run the ball to set up the pass. With Taylor entering his seventh season, he has been force-fed the pigskin with regularity, even as the quarterback position has been a revolving door since Peyton Manning left.
Shane Steichen employs a zone-running scheme with mid-zone and wide-zone concepts, along with gap elements, allowing Jonathan Taylor to use his exceptional patience and vision. If he gets to the second level of the defense, he has the wiggle to make safeties and corners miss and explosive top-end speed.
For now, Taylor is still a Colt, and as long as he is on the field, he must be accounted for. Quinnen William, Kenny Clark and the Cowboys' linebackers will have to be much better than they were against Tyler Allgeier, who carved them up last week en route to being named NFC Offensive Player of the Week.
2. We'll say it again...the defense has to tackle better
The Cowboys' defense must've missed a half-dozen tackles on Allgeier two scampers of 63 and 52 yards on Sunday. It is killing this team, which ranks at the very bottom of the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at a mind-blowing 152.8.
Teams are challenging Dallas' front seven to man up and wrap up at the line of scrimmage, and they simply aren't doing it well enough.
There's plenty of blame to go around.
Williams, Clark, Rashan Gary, Otito Ogbonnia, DeMarvion Overshown, Shemar James and Donovan Ezeiruaku all have to be better. The secondary, including rookie Caleb Downs and corner Joey Porter Jr., has to be stronger in run support and be willing to fill the gaps against a Colt offense that will test them with Taylor. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker's job may depend on it at this point.
3. Take advantage of a porous Colts rush defense
The Colts aren't as bad as the Cowboys when it comes to stopping the run, but they still rank near the bottom of the league (26th), allowing opponents 131 yards on the ground per contest. Dallas has to come out and look to establish Javonte Williams and Tyler Goodson early, as they did against the Eagles two weeks ago.
They were opening gaping holes against Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis all game long, and Williams ran for a career-high 155 yards on 25 carries. The Colts just gave up 104 yards and a touchdown to Jaguars RB Bayshul Tuten on 16 carries. They have also allowed 136 and 165 yards in two recent losses to the Titans and Colts, respectively.
The Colts are susceptible to a ground-and-pound attack with their hybrid 4-3 fronts and disguised, blitz-heavy defense. If they can get Williams going, the devastating play-action that Dak Prescott does so well with CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Ryan Flournoy will be much more effective downfield.
The Colts have lost four in a row. The Cowboys have already played four teams that have lost at least four games in a row at some point this season. Their schedule ranks among the easiest in the league thus far, yet they are still at 3-5 and underachieving. There's nowhere to go but up following their last loss, and the vulnerable Colts will give them an excellent opportunity to get right again if the Cowboys can do these three things.
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