Dallas Cowboys 4 keys to victory against the Indianapolis Colts
By John Herndon
The Dallas Cowboys enter the month of December in pretty good shape. They’re as healthy as an NFL team can be in the stretch run. They have answered several preseason questions up to this point.
The Dallas Cowboys defense can cause plenty problems for opposing offenses. A defense that has shown us it is sustainable. The offense is resembling a balanced juggernaut with a power running game that is built for the winter months.
Equipped with a top ten offense and defense are the two key components every Super Bowl contender long for as they seek the ultimate NFL prize…
The Dallas Cowboys are armed with both.
An NFL season is a marathon. Marathons are tests of endurance. The schedule has become softer, but the mental grind does not. Six more opponents to face before the real hungry games begin.
The Cowboys have allowed one inferior team to hang around and steal victory from them. They can’t allow history to repeat itself.
The lessons against the Green Bay Packers must not be forgotten.
Don’t breathe life into your opponent. Remind them who you are and choke out any hope they may believe they have early.
The Cowboys must avoid looking ahead. The next four out five games will be against the AFC South. One game at a time.
Dallas cannot imagine the glory of January until they pass the tests of December.
Let’s spotlight the keys to victory…
1. Run Defense
Dallas did a great job of making Saquon Barkley a non-factor on Thanksgiving. I believe the Colts will attempt to use Jonathan Taylor early and often. The Colts will attempt to avoid putting Matt Ryan in obvious passing downs against the Cowboys vaunted pass rush. Ryan is seeing ghosts these days.
The Colts will depend on Jonathan Taylor. The Cowboys’ perceived weakness on defense is their run defense. Dallas is giving up 131.1 rushing yard per game, which is the ninth most in the NFL.
Taylor is as good as any running back. The last three games Taylors has had 20 rushing attempts while averaging 4.95 yards per carry.
Upfront are the Colts offensive line talented trio of LG Quenton Nelson, C Ryan Kelly, RT Braden Smith.
They will present a stern test this Sunday night. Dallas’ run defense has trended in the right direction over the last two weeks.
If Dallas can keep Jonathan Taylor under wraps. They can put the Colts in some situations they are incapable of defending.
2. Pass defense
Rookie LT Bernhard Raimann has struggled all season to protect the blindside of Matt Ryan. Wait until he meets Micah Parsons.
The Colts offensive line has given up the most sacks in the NFL with 43. Dallas leads the league with 45 sacks.
Dallas could break the record for sacks in a single game.
3. Practice patience
Since the return of Dak Prescott, I have noticed a disturbing trend.
The Cowboys have lack patience. They have felt the need to chase points. Desperate teams chase points, believing they are out match on game day.
Dallas is not one of those teams, but recently they are behaving like one.
In the Chicago game before half time. They forced the issue when none was needed. Resulting in an interception and providing the Bears with hope.
We saw this it in the Packers game. On 3rd and long they chased points instead of going for a field goal. A game changing interception that gave life into an inferior opponent.
It showed up in the Giants game. Dallas was stopped when they went for it on 4th down in the
opening drive. A penalty wiped out a Giants TD score.
They have a pretty good defense on the bench. The Cowboys have acted like a desperate team.
They have to do a better job of weighting the risk vs reward. This trait could get them beat against a better team in January.
There is no need to chase points. Not when you have a complete football team that can play both sides of the ball.
Multiple giveaways in a game is the stuff that gets you beat. We’ve seen this from the Cowboys in the last two out of three games. Carelessness with the football. This is a simple fix.
4. Offensive Line
The Colts’ strength is their defensive line. While they are missing the talented Shaq Leonard–one of the best linebackers in the league.
DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart should not be slept on. They are a formidable duo in the interior of this Colts defense. The Dallas Cowboys offensive line have their work cut for them.
The strength of the Cowboys’ offense is their dynamic backfield tandem of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott.
For the last five games, The Dallas Cowboys are averaging 163.6 yards per game. I know Jerry Jones is the biggest Stan of Ezekiel Elliott, but Tony Pollard is the nitro the fluid that runs the machine.
Pollard leads the Cowboys with six 20 plus rushing plays. He is a dual threat and the most explosive player on the offense.
Since the return of Dak Prescott. Dallas have become one of the best red zone offenses in the league. Scoring a touchdown on 69.7% when they are inside the 20-yard line. They are currently rank 4th best in the league and have shown no signs of slowing down.
The Colts can’t match that fire power. Some games are simple to pick. This is one of them.
Give me Dallas
38-17