The Dallas Cowboys beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-23 on Sunday, as Javonte Williams' 1-yard touchdown run with 1:08 left answered a Spencer Shrader field goal that had put Indianapolis in front moments earlier. Dallas won nearly every statistical battle and still needed a touchdown in the final two minutes.

Dallas's Mistakes Turned a Rout Into a Coin Flip

The Cowboys gained 508 yards to Indianapolis's 271 and averaged better than 7 yards a play. A gap that wide usually settles a game by the fourth quarter, but Dallas kept handing back what its offense earned.

The flags were the biggest leak. Dallas was penalized 14 times for 153 yards and lost 2 fumbles. That is how a team that controlled the clock for most of the afternoon found itself trailing with under two minutes to play.

Third down was the other problem. Dallas converted 5 of 16, and an offense moving the ball this easily should have finished more of its 14 drives with touchdowns instead of leaning on Brandon Aubrey's 45- and 28-yard field goals.

Total yards: DAL 508 – IND 271
Yards per play: DAL 7.2 – IND 4.6
Penalties: DAL 14-153 – IND 9-67
Third down: DAL 5-16 – IND 3-13
Turnovers: DAL 2 – IND 2
Time of possession: DAL 35:43 – IND 24:17

Spencer Shrader's Leg Was the Colts' Best Offense

Indianapolis did little with the ball and still held the lead late. Shrader made field goals of 47, 59 and 50 yards. The last two came in the fourth quarter, the first drawing the Colts level at 5:56 and the second putting them ahead at 1:37.

The offense around him rarely sustained anything. The Colts completed 20 of 34 passes for 166 net yards, averaged 4.6 yards an attempt, threw 1 interception and converted 3 of 13 third downs. They finished with 15 first downs to Dallas's 22.

Their two touchdowns were a Seth McGowan 2-yard run in the first quarter and a 55-yard Daniel Jones pass to Ashton Dulin late in the third. That strike pulled Indianapolis back within reach after a halftime deficit. A team leaning this hard on long kicks and one big throw is living on a thin margin, and on Sunday it ran out.

Passing: IND – 20-34, 166 YDS, 1 INT
Rushing: IND – 23 ATT, 105 YDS
Field goals: Spencer Shrader – 47, 59, 50
Red zone: IND 1-2

The Cowboys Are Built to Win Away From Home

The win moves Dallas to 3-2 on the road, against 1-3 at home. Whatever has gone wrong in front of its own crowd has not followed this team on the road.

Sunday showed the reason. Dallas ran for 179 yards at 5.3 a carry and threw for 329 net yards with no interceptions, so Indianapolis could not sell out to stop one and survive the other.

Dak Prescott's two touchdown passes both came in the second quarter. He hit Jake Ferguson for a 10-yard score early in the period and found CeeDee Lamb for 44 yards with 21 seconds left before the half. When the Colts finally went ahead late, Dallas answered within the same two-minute window, with Williams finishing it from 1 yard out.

Passing: DAL – 21-34, 329 YDS, 0 INT
Rushing: DAL – 34 ATT, 179 YDS
Red zone: DAL 2-3
Fourth down: DAL 1-1

What It Means

Dallas moves to 4-5, and its road record is what is holding the season together. The yards were there in Indianapolis. Cleaning up the penalties and fumbles is the difference between escaping and controlling games like this one.

Indianapolis falls to 2-7, 1-3 at home and 1-4 on the road. The Colts had a lead with under two minutes to go and could not hold it, which says as much about how thin their offense is as about how close they came.