The Dallas Cowboys take on the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, in Indianapolis.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
INDIANAPOLIS — The best analogy for the Cowboys-Colts matchup between two sub-500 teams was made by Cowboys radio analyst Babe Laufenberg just before kickoff.
Babe noted that both teams were like the female swimmer in the opening scene of “Jaws.” A shark was circling … dah-duh, dah-duh, dah-duh … and the swimmer was about to get pulled underwater.
With a loss Sunday, either the Cowboys or Colts would — for all intents and purposes — have their season sink to the bottom of the ocean. Which team would survive, saving any realistic hope for the postseason for at least another week? And which team would be chum in the water?
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The Cowboys faced their survival test short-handed with a surprise inactive due to injury.
Cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who was limited late in the week with ankle/heel injury, was unable to play. Cobie Durant started in his place.
Durant was slated to play in the slot/nickel. But because he had to play outside for Porter, safety Caleb Downs had to move from safety to the slot when the defense went “nickel” (five DBs). Downs cleared protocol earlier in the week after suffering a concussion the previous Sunday.
P.J. Locke, who like Downs had left the previous week’s game with a concussion, took Downs’ spot at safety in nickel situations. Markquese Bell entered as an extra safety in the “dime” package (six DBs). Ameer Speed was the primary backup cornerback.
Receiver depth put to test: With George Pickens (hamstring) inactive and KaVontae Turpin missing his third straight game due to a rib injury, Jonathan Mingo moved up to the role of WR3 behind CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy.
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Mingo injured his ankle late in the second quarter. Two rookie free agents, Camden Brown and Jordan Hudson, would play in the second half and share Mingo’s reps at receiver. Hudson, from SMU, was elevated from the practice squad over the weekend. He was targeted once but both he and Brown finished without a catch.
Mingo is also the primary punt returner in Turpin’s absence. Who would return punts in the second half if Mingo were sidelined the remainder of the game?
The Cowboys’ defense forced a three-and-out to open the second half. Mingo was able to field the ensuing punt (fair catch). That lone rep early in the third quarter would be his last play of the day. Downs and Hudson were candidates to help return punts. But neither was called upon because the Cowboys’ defense, which did a stellar job in forcing five Colts’ punts in the first half, didn’t force another punt for the remainder of the second half. Every ensuing Colts possession ended in either a score (3 FGs, 1 TD) or a turnover (1 fumble lost, 1 interception). The second half was a scoring bonanza compared to the Colts’ first half.
Overall, the Cowboys and Colts offenses totaled 11 punts.
During the Punt-a-Palooza, the Cowboys punted on three consecutive drives in the second quarter. That’s pretty bad. Not to be outdone, the Colts punted on four consecutive drives in the second quarter. You’ve read this correctly: These two offenses combined for seven consecutive punts in the second quarter. Putrid.
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Not surprisingly, Colts fans booed the home team off the field at halftime.
The busiest guys on the field were the gunners on punt coverage. Kudos to the unsung heroes of special teams like Speed, who had an excellent tackle on Bryan Anger’s 51-yard punt to open the Cowboys’ portion of the punt fest.
Were the excessive number of punts a result of good defense or complete ineptitude on offense? A little of both maybe. But self-inflicted wounds were also to blame, including the Cowboys’ offense committing three penalties within a single second-quarter drive.
The Colts’ “white out” game with their all-white Color Rush uniforms turned into a yellow tide thanks to the officiating crew, which completed more throws (23 yellow flags) than Colts QB Daniel Jones (20 passes).
Dallas committed 14 of the 23 accepted penalties, including three by CeeDee Lamb (2 OPI, 1 false start).
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It was a herky-jerky game — there was no flow — due to the high volume of flags. Referee Clay Martin got way too much airtime, including landing on social media when he announced a penalty following the fumble recovery by LB Shemar James and the ensuing celebration among teammates.
“We have a non-uniform player in the blue sweats and a stocking cap come onto the field to celebrate,” Martin said of LB DeMarvion Overshown, who was inactive Sunday due to a hamstring injury.
There were so many flags, even a guy in street clothes drew a penalty! Ridiculous.
Then again, it was a crazy day. We were playing in a dome, but the benches were heated and fitted with sunscreens. Note to Colts’ decision makers: When it’s cold enough that benches are heated, shouldn’t the roof stay closed?
When I got the text at 8 a.m. Sunday morning from a colleague at the stadium saying the retractable roof and end zone door of Lucas Oil Stadium would be open, the temperature was 30 degrees. Yes, it warmed up to 54 degrees by kickoff at 1 p.m. local time, but it was chilly in the shade and fans were wearing jackets and beanie caps.
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There were splashes of sun coming through the open roof, creating sun spots on the field where it was tough to peer through the glare.
The degree of difficulty on TE Jake Ferguson’s second-quarter TD catch was off the charts. Not only did he reach over the helmet of the defender to snag the pass, he was falling backward as he made the grab. There was only one sunny patch on the field at the time and it was the corner of the end zone where Ferguson made the grab. Fans and photographers seated in that area were wearing sunglasses to fight the glare. Ferguson does not wear a tinted visor, but he still made the catch. What a play!
Ferguson, who was “questionable” entering the game due to an ankle injury, suffered a left knee injury in the third quarter. His knee was taped up in the blue medical tent and he re-entered the game but was unable to finish the contest and watched the final game-winning drive from the sideline. His injury status will be updated by coach Brian Schottenheimer during Monday afternoon’s news conference.
Hot ticket: Next up for Dallas is hosting the 49ers on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Resale ticket prices are sky-high. One week before kickoff, Standing Room Only tickets were listed on SeatGeek.com at $245 and up. That is not a typo: $245 to stand and watch. The least expensive seat in the upper deck was $474 for the corner of the end zone.
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Kristi Scales is the sideline reporter for the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. She writes this column for The Dallas Morning News after each Cowboys game.