FRISCO, TX – The Dallas Cowboys (8-3) will host the Indianapolis Colts (4-7-1) on Sunday night football at AT&T Stadium. Tip off is at 7:20 PM.
Things to look out for during this matchup:
Offense:
On the offensive side of the ball, the run game was stellar for Dallas last week on Thanksgiving against the Giants. Ezekiel Elliott led the pack with 92 yards rushing, averaging 5.8 yards per carry. With that being said, the Colts run defense is solid, holding running backs to 3.8 yards per carry.
With great run defense this might force QB Dak Prescott to rely more on the passing game then he usually does. Prescott will most likely hit his go to guy CeeDee Lamb, he leads the Cowboys in targets and had a 100+ yard game last Thursday to the Giants.
From what we saw last week Indianpolis is going to have to prioritize defending the tight end position. That is the Colts weakest area on defense, they have given up five touchdowns to tight ends so far this season. This will be an area the Colts will have to focus on this week as Dallas has a lot of offensive productivity at the tight end position. On Thursday against the Giants TE Jake Ferguson and TE Dalton Schultz went 7-of-7 and combined for 88 yards and two touchdowns. TE Payton Hendershot even got in on the action and scored a touchdown for Dallas.
Defense:
Defensively, we will most likely see CB Trevon Diggs matchup with WR Michael Pittman. QB Matt Ryan goes to Pittman more than any other player on their offense. The biggest question is going to be how much time Ryan will have to get the ball to Pittman with Dallas currently having three of the top five pass rushers in the league; Dante Fowler (1st), Micah Parsons (2nd), and Dorance Armstrong (5th).
Micah Parsons told us yesterday after practice, “I think people play the Cowboys differently.… They understand it’s a prime time game. They understand who we are. There are not many teams like us. We got to play every team to the maximum extent and not overlook no one because that’s how upsets happen.”
