If the Cowboys want to get back on the winning track, a dominant performance from their offensive line would certainly help. Let’s see how they match up against the Colts defensive line.
Trench Dashboard
Here are the Cowboys offensive line metrics for the 2026 season so far.
Pass Block Win Rate – 53% (8th)
Run Block Win Rate – 69% (31st)
Pressure rate allowed
– 30% (15th)Sacks allowed – 11 (4th)
Last three-week trend: One step forward, one step back
The Pressure Point
Every opponent will look at the Cowboys offensive line and ask, where
can we break it? Here’s what to watch for.
PRESSURE POINT: Adetomiwa Adebawore is now the player Dallas has to find
DeForest Buckner is gone after Indianapolis traded the three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle to San Francisco last week. That sounds like great news for Dallas, but his replacement might actually be the most dangerous individual pass-rushing matchup on the Colts defense.
Adetomiwa Adebawore has quietly put together an excellent season. PFF currently credits him with 16 pressures and five sacks, while his 84.4 pass-rush grade ranks third among qualifying interior defensive linemen.
That is the matchup Dallas cannot overlook simply because Buckner has left town. Interior pressure is especially dangerous for Prescott. When an edge defender gets around Tyler Guyton or Terence Steele, Dak Prescott can often step forward. When Adebawore wins directly through the middle, there is nowhere to step.
That puts Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker under pressure to restore order after a poor performance against Arizona.
PRESSURE POINT: The tackles need a response
Tyler Guyton had been enjoying a strong season before Sunday, then Arizona changed that. Guyton finished with a 44.7 PFF grade, while Terence Steele was only slightly better at 48.2. Four of Dallas’ five starting offensive linemen graded below 50.
Indianapolis does not have an elite edge rush, but there are still players capable of punishing another poor performance. Laiatu Latu earned an 84.0 PFF grade against Jacksonville and recorded a sack. Jaylahn Tuimoloau also recorded a sack and generated four pressures, producing a 22.2% pressure win rate in the game.
Still, the Colts rank last in ESPN Pass Rush Win Rate. If Guyton and Steele surrender quick pressure anyway, it becomes a major concern for a Cowboys offensive line that was supposed to be settling down. Against Philadelphia, Prescott was barely touched. Against Arizona, he went down four times. Dallas needs the Philadelphia version back.
WHERE TO ATTACK
Every defensive line has a weakness, here’s the Colts soft spots and where the Cowboys offensive line should attack.
GREEN LIGHT: Run straight at the post-Buckner Colts
This might be the clearest green light Dallas has seen all season.
Indianapolis has allowed:
1,054 rushing yards
131.8 rushing yards per game
4.9 yards per carry
26% Run Stop Win Rate which ranks 29th
Then the Colts traded Buckner. Their first game without him ended with Jacksonville rushing for 183 yards, that is an invitation.
Dallas cannot respond by putting everything back on Prescott. Javonte Williams carried 24 times against Arizona but gained only 56 yards. The blocking simply did not give him anywhere to go so this week needs to look different.
Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker are two powerful guards. Cooper Beebe can work combination blocks with either of them. Dallas should use that interior strength and force Indianapolis to prove it can hold up without Buckner.
Even Grover Stewart has not been dominant this season. His current PFF run-defense grade sits at 60.4, 43rd among qualifying interior defenders. Adebawore has been much more dangerous rushing the passer than anchoring an entire run defense, so make them both play the run and make Indianapolis’ linebackers tackle Williams repeatedly.
And most importantly, do not abandon the run if the first few attempts only gain three yards. The Colts have been worn down by opposing running games all season. Dallas should test that weakness for four quarters.
GREEN LIGHT: Make Indianapolis win with its four-man pass rush
The ESPN number is difficult to ignore as you will see below, Indianapolis’ Pass Rush Win Rate is at 40%, that ranks 32nd.
That means the Colts have been the NFL’s least successful team at quickly defeating pass blocks on an individual basis, and their sack production confirms it. Indianapolis has only 16 sacks through eight games, that ranks 23rd.
Dallas should trust its offensive line when the Colts send four. Put the running backs and tight ends into routes and force Indianapolis to cover CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Jake Ferguson and the running backs. If Indianapolis wants to rush four, Dallas’ five offensive linemen need to win.
The Chaos Report
Here’s the Arizona Cardinals defensive trends for this season at the defensive line.
Sack Total – 16 (23rd)
Pass Rush Win Rate – 40% (32nd)
Run Stop Win Rate – 27% (28th)
QB Pressure Rate – 21% (32nd)
Last three-week trend: Weak and getting weaker
Matchup of the week
Tyler Smith vs. Adetomiwa Adebawore
When Indianapolis lines Adebawore up across from Tyler Smith, watch it, this is strength against strength.
Adebawore is now the most disruptive interior pass rusher on the Colts roster and Smith is the Cowboys offensive lineman best equipped to deal with that combination of speed and power.
Adebawore is only 282 pounds, which makes this matchup particularly interesting. He wins with explosion and quickness, and Smith wins with strength.
When the Cowboys run, Smith needs to put his hands on Adebawore early and move him, instead of allowing him to shoot through a gap. That also helps later in pass protection. If Adebawore spends the afternoon dealing with Smith coming forward in the running game, he cannot simply spend every snap attacking backwards toward Prescott.
Best Route to Success
Dallas should not make this game complicated since the Colts cannot stop the run and those numbers should immediately tell Brian Schottenheimer where this game needs to begin.
Get Smith and Booker moving forward, feed Williams, use play-action once Indianapolis starts bringing its linebackers downhill, then trust the tackles against a pass rush that ranks last in Pass Rush Win Rate.
Dallas cannot repeat what happened against Arizona, where one week of dominant offensive-line play disappeared immediately. The Cowboys have already shown how good this unit can look, Indianapolis provides the perfect opportunity to prove Philadelphia was not a fluke.
Injury Updates:
Dallas currently has no new injury concerns among its five starting offensive linemen, but keep watch on Jake Ferguson. This could bring Brevyn Spann-Ford to the mix who’s been a much better blocker this year.
Veteran edge defender Arden Key remains on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, while Micheal Clemons has also been on IR with a toe injury.
