Cowboys vs. Colts WATCH: Dak Prescott & Malik Hooker Interceptions Key 1st Half
The Dallas Cowboys are taking on the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football as coach Mike McCarthy's team looks to continue its impressive form. Sitting at 8-3 and multiple games behind the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas needs to keep winning.
And as you'll see below, Dallas also needed to handle its turnover business ... something that didn't happen in the final two minutes of the first half, as a Dak Prescott interception (with his receiver Michael Gallup falling down) set up the Colts with the ball at Cowboys' 16.
The Cowboys came up with a response from the defense, holding Indy to but a field goal, creating a score of Dallas 14, Colts 13. ... but with lots of ticks left on the clock, eventually allowing a Dallas interception by Malik Hooker (the former Colt) ...
That Hooker play doesn't erase the Dallas offensive interception concerns, as you'll see detailed below. ... but at least they even out ...
Especially when Dak and Gallup found a way to hook up for a TD with 13 seconds remaining in the half, Dallas then taking a 21-13 lead.
To some pregame thoughts ...
The 4-7-1 Colts have lost five out of their last six and come into Sunday's game with many question marks. Meanwhile, Dallas is the polar opposite, having won four out of its last five and sitting as a heavy favorite.
Dallas is also fairly healthy, as reflected in the healthy scratches on the inactives list. (Here's who is: Quinton Bohanna (knee), Jabril Cox, Markquese Bell, Nahshon Wright and Will Grier.)
But how do the Cowboys notch their ninth win of the season? By doing these five things.
Stopping Jonathan Taylor: This will likely be circled and plastered everywhere on Dan Quinn's whiteboard.
Stopping the run has been a problem issue at times for Dallas through nine games, but in the last two, the 'Boys seem to have a handle on it. Against the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas held Dalvin Cook to 74 yards and the Vikings to 75 total rushing yards.
They then backed that up against the New York Giants and held Saquon Barkley to just 39 rushing yards and gave up a total of 90 rush yards.
That'll work.
The Colts have shown they can run the ball (207 yards vs. the Las Vegas Raiders) and have surpassed the 100-yard mark five times. Let's not forget, despite being down in their last two games, Taylor still had 22 and 20 rushing attempts, respectively. So, Indianapolis sticks with the run game.
Stopping Taylor will be Job One and will go a long way to determining a positive result for the Cowboys.
Get after Matt Ryan: The Cowboys have the highest sack total in the league through 11 games with 45, six clear of the New England Patriots (39) in second. Looking at the Colts, they lead the NFL in sacks allowed, giving up 43.
That would suggest that Ryan is going to have a hard time staying upright on Sunday night. Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dorance Armstrong, and Companyo need to get early, sustained pressure on the Colts quarterback.
Indianapolis has given up sack totals of one, four, and three since Ryan was re-instated into the lineup. Over that same span, Dallas has recorded 12 sacks.
We have seen how dominating Quinn's defensive front can be, and on Sunday night, it needs to show up again.
Start fast: As we saw against the Giants, the longer an underdog stays in the game, the belief grows that an upset can occur. Luckily for Dallas, they got on top after halftime and ultimately cruised to a 28-20 win.
But the Giants game showed us that despite the opponent, Dallas needs to stamp its authority early; otherwise the nerves can set in. The last thing McCarthy wants is for the Colts to be within a score at the start of the fourth quarter.
With Taylor, Indianapolis can control the clock, so it is paramount that Dallas gets off to a hot start and puts up points early.
The Colts are underdogs heading into Sunday's game, but the Cowboys need to squash any hope of an upset early on. Let's not forget the Colts had the Eagles handled until some Jalen Hurts heroics two games ago.
Limit turnovers: The Cowboys offense has turned the ball over in five of its last six games. What is troubling during the last three, Prescott has had multiple interception games (two vs. Green Bay and two vs. New York).
That needs to be cleaned up.
The last thing Dallas will want is to give extra possessions to a Colts team that, if given the chance, can drain the clock with their running game.
Dallas hasn't won the turnover battle since the Week 8 win over the Chicago Bears. That needs to change on Sunday night.
Continue third-down efficiency: Once the Achilles heel of the Cowboys has now turned into a strength. In the last three games, Dallas has converted 55.81 percent of its third-down attempts (ranks first in the NFL).
What might be lost on some is that despite the Colts' offensive woes, their defense has been stout. They rank sixth in third-down defense, allowing a conversion just 35.67 percent of the time, so Prescott and his unit will have a hard time putting up points if they can't buck this trend.
During their last three games, the Colts have only allowed 17 out of 39 third downs to be converted, while the Cowboys during that same span (24/43) have had success on the "money down."
Converting third down will be crucial to the Cowboys' efforts to secure their ninth win of the season.
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