FRISCO, Texas – Well, here we go again. Every other week or two these Dallas Cowboys seem to be starting from scratch.
That's what happens when you have failed to win back-to-back since Weeks 11-13 of last year. Go on, three straight then. But that's what happens when losing nine of the past 13 games the Cowboys have ever since, closing off the 7-9-1 of last year losing four of the final five and then starting this 2026 season losing five of the first eight.
Ugh.
And the roller coaster of a season for the Cowboys rolls on, over this past month it's been win one, lose two, win one, lose one, and my advice to these Boys is now better win one Sunday in Indianapolis when playing the 2-6 Colts, losers of their last four, but then that shouldn't mean much of an advantage to the 3-5 Cowboys, already having lost to the 0-4 Buccaneers and this past Sunday to the 2-5 Cardinals who had lost five of their last six.
And this wasn't just any loss to the Cardinals, and the Cowboys must hope, or work to prevent that loss becoming an emotional letdown when considering they were up 17-3 with 6:37 left in the third quarter; up by 14 in the fourth quarter, 24-10; then up by 10, 27-17, with 3:53 to play; and even led 30-24 with a mere 1:09 left.
Only to lose by three in overtime.
That better not take a mental toll, or as Dak Prescott says if indeed there is such a hangover, "Frustration doesn't get you anywhere."
And here's what certainly could be frustrating: Why in so many areas seemingly the Cowboys were turning the corner in those aspects of the game requiring improvement from their 2-4 start.
Take the offense. In consecutive losses to Tampa Bay and Green Bay the Cowboys only scored 16 points and then 13 points. But the following Monday night the Cowboys put up 38 points – on the road at that – against what has been considered a stout Eagles defense in their last win, drawing to 3-4.
After being somewhat inefficient running the ball, just 50 and 48 yards in those Bay losses, they motored for a season high 204 against the Eagles, averaging a robust 5.4 yards a carry.
Same with the defense
After trailing the Eagles 21-20 in the third quarter, already having given up 113 yards rushing with a banged up Saquon Barkley watching from the sideline by then and 19 first downs with backup quarterback Tanner McKee leading the team, the Cowboys defense rose to the fourth quarter occasion to shut down the Eagles, no points, four first downs – two of those on the final drive – and 76 yards – on the final four possessions, one of those ending with an interception.
And on top of that going back to the Arizona game, the Cowboys held the Cards to just three points over the first 43 minutes, 25 seconds of that game, 47 yards rushing, just 119 yards passing and compiled four sacks while doing so, to the point the Cardinals benched starter Jacoby Brissett.
And heaven forbid, then we got this out of the blue: The struggling Arizona Cardinals score touchdowns on four consecutive possessions, needing just 23 plays. The Cardinals over those final 16: 35 score 27 points, rush for 155 of their final total of 202 yards to come from behind to win in overtime.
So what is what? Were the Cowboys trending after those consecutive losses? Or were they landing on their heads after last Sunday's loss?
We are about to find out in the state of Hoosiers since the last thing these Cowboys need, and seemingly too talented to go there, is lose this game, falling to potentially an irrecoverable 3-6 and with the 49ers coming to town next week. That would mean they would have to go 6-2 over the final eight just to finish a game above .500, which still might be enough to win the dysfunctional NFC East at this point.
And really Sunday is not about who the Cowboys are playing. Not about the Colts record, or that they have lost four straight or that they are a humbling 2-13 going back to last year when losing the final seven games of the season. No matter they have a struggling Daniel Jones at quarterback or the well respected and dangerous Jonathan Tylor at running back. Or Sauce Gardner at cornerback. Whatever.
This is about the Cowboys, or as Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said, "The thing we got to clean up is our own house."
Got that right. Sort of like my dear old Aunt Sara who would get down on her knees on the kitchen linoleum with Q-tips to properly clean in the corners, bless her Italian soul.
The Cowboys know, even though the Colts blitz like at a 28 percent rate, they are coming after Dak more than that. Geesh, the Cowboys have to bust a play to discourage such aggressiveness. Block it up. And make sure the run-pass balance does not come out like it did in the Arizona game, 39 runs, 29 passes. Come on, that's Dak Prescott at quarterback. CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Ryan Flournoy at wide receiver. The butter for your bread.
Then on the other hand, can't allow Taylor to produce his first 100-yard game of the season, the 98 in the opener against Baltimore his high. Can't allow quarterback Daniel Jones to produce an "Indiana Jones" performance. My goodness, he's only thrown five touchdown passes. Been intercepted nine times. Sacked 22 times. His QB rating of 68.7 ranks dead last among 30 NFL quarterbacks.
Why the Cowboys have recorded 13 sacks in the past five games, as pointed out earlier in the week, that pace would factor out over 17 games to 44, coming in fourth most over these past 18 seasons, going back to the 59 in 2008, second most in a franchise single season since sacks became an official NFL stat in 1982.
And for Landry's sake, do not allow the Colts leader in receiving yards Josh Downs (330) to come out of this game with Downs family bragging rights, and since he is being listed as questionable for this game, Cowboys optimistic the rookie will emerge from concussion protocol in time for the game, brother Caleb might have something to say about this, saving brotherly love for the postgame in the family's first NFL head-to-head appearance.
Oh, and score touchdowns over kicking field goals, Brandon Aubrey's three against the Cards nice, and known weapon, his four misses this year either from 60-plus out (65, 61) or blocked (59, 62). Don't turn him into a crutch.
Why in the last four games, three of those losses, the Cowboys have scored just seven touchdowns in those three losses while kicking five field goals. To me, that's leaving 20 points on the field. Turning one of those field goals against Arizona in that last game into a touchdown just might have pushed this team's record to 4-4.
Time for the Cowboys to scratch their seemingly weekly itch.
