INDIANAPOLIS — Ryan Flournoy gave Dak Prescott the opening Dallas had spent much of the afternoon threatening to waste. With the Cowboys behind and less than two minutes remaining, the receiver pulled in a deep pass down the right sideline, turning another possible fourth-quarter collapse into a chance to escape.
Prescott’s 46-yard completion started a winning possession that lasted just 29 seconds. Javonte Williams scored from a yard out with 1:08 remaining Sunday, and rookie Caleb Downs intercepted Daniel Jones on Indianapolis’ final possession to secure a 27-23 Dallas victory at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Cowboys improved to 4-5 after winning for only the second time in five games. Indianapolis fell to 2-7 with its fifth consecutive defeat. For Dallas, the distinction from the previous week’s overtime loss to Arizona was not a clean performance. It was finally producing the decisive response after surrendering a late lead.
The Associated Press recap carried by CBS Sports described a finish shaped by both Prescott’s urgency and an Indianapolis decision to preserve time. After two Colts penalties helped Dallas reach the goal line, coach Shane Steichen instructed his defense to allow Williams to score rather than let the Cowboys exhaust the clock.
Steichen said the Cowboys had “four shots from the 1-yard line,” explaining that conceding the touchdown would give Indianapolis another possession. The alternative, he said, was allowing Dallas to keep bleeding time. That choice left Jones with an opportunity, but Downs ended it with 35 seconds remaining.
The difficult part for Dallas was that such a rescue should not have been necessary. The Cowboys gained 508 yards to Indianapolis’ 271 and held the ball for 35 minutes, 43 seconds. They nevertheless committed 14 penalties for 153 yards and lost two fumbles, repeatedly giving the Colts ways back into a game the visitors had controlled statistically.
CeeDee Lamb embodied both sides of that performance. His 10 catches produced 195 yards, the second-highest receiving total of his career, including a 44-yard touchdown with 21 seconds remaining before halftime. That play sent Dallas into the break ahead 17-7.
But another potential touchdown disappeared when Lamb failed to get both feet in bounds. Later, he got up after a catch without being touched and ran into Indianapolis territory, only for the play to end with a lost fumble. His production kept the offense moving; the missed opportunities kept the result unsettled.
Prescott completed 21 of 34 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. He also lost a fumble that gave Indianapolis possession at the Dallas 19-yard line, setting up the Colts’ first touchdown. The Cowboys had enough offense to recover from that early mistake, but not enough discipline to put the game away.
According to the Cowboys’ official game report, this was their first victory of the season when scoring fewer than 30 points. Dallas had opened the campaign with a 28-20 defeat against the Giants; in Indianapolis, the defense ultimately supplied the final stop that allowed a smaller scoring total to hold up.
Williams finished with 101 rushing yards, while former Colts running back Tyler Goodson added 77 against his old team. Dallas totaled 179 yards on the ground, giving Prescott support beyond Lamb’s work downfield. Even those gains could not prevent the fourth quarter from becoming a succession of missed chances and changes in momentum.
Indianapolis cut a 20-10 deficit when Ashton Dulin turned a short Jones pass into a 55-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. Spencer Shrader then made a 59-yard field goal with 5:56 left to tie the game and a 50-yarder with 1:37 remaining to put the Colts ahead 23-20.
Between those kicks, Brandon Aubrey missed from 50 yards for Dallas. Prescott therefore took over needing to change the score immediately, with Flournoy providing the field-position swing on the first play of the winning drive. This time, the Cowboys reached the end zone instead of asking their kicker to rescue the possession.
Jones finished 20 of 34 for 180 yards, one touchdown and the late interception. Jonathan Taylor managed 46 yards on 13 carries and lost a fumble that stopped an Indianapolis scoring opportunity. The Colts recovered enough to take the lead, but their final possession could not answer Dallas’ sudden acceleration.
Prescott said Dallas had done “whatever it takes to come out with a win,” while acknowledging the second half had fallen short. The result did not resolve every concern. Tight end Jake Ferguson, who caught Dallas’ other touchdown pass, left with a left knee injury in the third quarter and did not return; the source report did not establish the severity.
