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Cowboys' offense under the spotlight after Arizona collapse, with Colts trip next
Dallas scored 30 and still lost to Arizona. At 3-5, the Cowboys head to Indianapolis needing an offense that can close out games.
The Dallas Cowboys put 30 points on the board against Arizona last Sunday and still lost, and that tells you plenty about where this team stands. The offense now faces pressure to carry more of the load. ESPN said as much this week, arguing that Dallas needs more from its offense as it tries to climb out of a 3-5 hole.
It can sound odd to blame the offense for a game the defense gave away. Dallas led 17-3, and the Cardinals were down to backup Gardner Minshew after he replaced Jacoby Brissett late in the third quarter. Arizona then scored 23 points across the fourth quarter and overtime, NBC DFW reported. But the offense had several chances to end it and didn't. The Dallas Morning News noted that Dallas recovered an onside kick with 1:09 left, up six, and went three-and-out. In overtime, the team site's film review found, the Cowboys never picked up the first down that would have moved them toward a winning field goal.
The running game was the biggest problem. A week after Dallas ran for more than 200 yards against Philadelphia, it managed 93 yards on 39 carries against Arizona, just 2.4 a carry, according to DallasCowboys.com. Arizona outgained Dallas by 206 yards. Coach Brian Schottenheimer called the game "a tale of two halves" more than once, the site reported.
The pattern goes back further than one Sunday. NBC DFW pointed out that Dallas has not won a game this season when it scored fewer than 34 points. The three wins came at 37, 34 and 38. The Cowboys average about 27.4 points a game and allow about 26.6, so most weeks come down to a shootout, and the offense has to win it.
What it means at Indianapolis
Dallas plays at the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, November 8, on Fox. The Cowboys have won two of their last four but have yet to put together consecutive wins. Their three wins include two on the road, at Houston and Philadelphia. The Arizona loss also came right after their best offensive night of the year, which shows how quickly the production has come and gone.
The market expects the offense to show up. Dallas is favored by 4.5 points across this site's board, which tracks 12 venues. Novig has the Cowboys at -212 on the moneyline and lists both sides of the 4.5-point spread at -102. The best Colts number anywhere is +5.5 at BetRivers, priced at -113, so the venues sit about a point apart. The total is 51.5 at Novig and 52 at Fanatics, a high number that fits a team whose games keep turning into shootouts. Sportsbook hold on the moneyline runs from 3.6% to 5.9%.
The stretch after that is harder. San Francisco visits the following week, and the 49ers are favored at -208 on Novig. That makes Indianapolis a game Dallas needs to win, and its record says it needs to score in the mid-30s to do it. More on the season is on our Cowboys page.