Although it seemed at times that they would find a way to lose the game, the Dallas Cowboys managed to prevail over the Indianapolis Colts. It didn’t exactly save a season that still is teetering on the edge of the precipice, and any good feelings from this win are likely to dissipate when Dallas host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Our Tom Ryle and Sean Martin take a look at what faces the Cowboys.
Tom – I have to compare the narrow 27-23 win over the Colts to cotton candy. We wanted it, but it turned
out to be messy and rather unsatisfying.
And it didn’t exactly presage a strong showing against the Niners, who are one of the best teams in the league. While Dallas has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory more than once this season, San Francisco keeps finding ways to win with an injury list that runs on and on. They have a clearly winning culture, while the Cowboys have something. And there is absolutely no comparison between the head coaches.
Sean – Speaking on the league at large for a second, we’ve been past the point where teams mostly are what they are for just a little bit prior to this Cowboys-Colts game even kicking off. The Cowboys have blown so many games though that they are now on a desperate march to prove they aren’t defined by those losses, one that will require stringing together wins, which is something us fans all need to see anyway considering Brian Schottenheimer hasn’t proven he can do that at any point from last year on.
Like you sort of said, the 49ers game either way will add the Cowboys to the list of teams around the NFL that we know what they are here in mid-November. It’s either another setback where all the things the Cowboys didn’t do well to let the Colts be close to them get them exposed, confirming many other suspicions about what Dallas is anyway, or a possible season-defining win.
A win for Schottenheimer against Kyle Shanahan, which will require Schotty’s offense to look more Shanny-like, would send a message that this team does have the fight in it to contend for the NFC East until the end. Beating the 49ers also feels like it will take having Christian Parker’s fingerprints all over it, after his defense mostly found a way to do so against the Colts. Momentum for players and coaches is there for the taking if they can somehow keep the winning vibes around longer than one week at a time.
I’m not over-the-moon excited about beating the Colts by four, but I’ll also never be as upset after a win as I can be after a loss. Making this win mean something, anything at all, is up to the Cowboys to step up against the 49ers. Not as excited for that, but also ready for the peace of mind of knowing what this team really is one way or another by the end of it.
Tom – Is it weird to say that a win over the 49ers would make the rest of the season more mentally taxing to deal with? If Dallas loses, especially by double digits, I think there will just be a sense of resignation and no expectations that the Cowboys can claw their way back into the playoffs. But any victory on Sunday, no matter how close, would keep those postseason hopes alive and well.
Of course delivering what would certainly be seen as a shocking win would make us feel better about the team, as well as being the signature win of Schotty’s career to date. On the other hand, it would hardly prove that all the myriad warts of the team are suddenly cleared up. Based on what we have suffered through this year we will be just waiting for the other shoe to drop and Dallas to fall apart. I remember thinking that Indianapolis at least tying the game up was feeling inevitable until Caleb Downs came to the rescue. It will take a whole string of strong performances to get us over that particular hangup.
The worst thing is how this all seems largely irrelevant. Not only have the Cowboys done nothing to really make us think they can win, they have also shown no carryover from a previous win.
And if they do lose, we can just relax and start digging into potential draft picks and replacements for the coaching staff.
Sean – Man, I’m going to have to show you the highlight of Montana State winning with a trick play in triple overtime from this past Saturday to get you back to being fired up about football again, Tom. I do wholeheartedly agree there is a weird calming sense about this 49ers game feeling like a definitive point to find out for good who these 2026 Cowboys are. So, continuing down the improbable path of how we might feel if they actually win, you’re right that it likely means nothing to confirm they’ll be ready to actually win in the postseason should they continue on (with two more tough NFC West opponents on the road still to go) to make it.
Coming out of the Colts win though, there is a real line in the sand between the way Dak Prescott talked as the season vet wanting the message to be more about improving and not being happy with all the penalties and mistakes, and Schottenheimer flying high after a win like usual. We can add CeeDee Lamb and even Schotty’s boss Jerry Jones to the first side of this fence too, so whatever dynamic this has when the going inevitably gets tough against the big, bad 49ers will be super telling on Sunday.
The one position we should be the absolute most worried about this organization finding the next guy at is quarterback, so more Dak-ball that leads to a win over the 49ers would be a sight for sore eyes to know at least #4 still gives you a chance – even against the best of the best. It hasn’t always played out that way, but this is a new opportunity, the defense can be trusted a little more and more each game, and I’m excited to see one way or another what Dallas does with it at home.
Tom – I’m glad you are feeling some optimism, but I just can’t share it. They are facing one of the best teams in the league this weekend, and so far they have just been a wildly dysfunctional mess. While it would be great for the Cowboys to play them close, at least looking like they belong on the field with San Francisco, I fear this game will lay bare just how bad this year’s team is.
Yet even a thorough drubbing will not make them dead in the water in their division. Bounce back the next week, and we will still be going over scenarios that could get them into the playoffs as the representative from the NFC East. As long as Dak remains healthy, they still have that slim hope to cling to.
I just wish it did not feel so desultory already.
Sean – I will admit, I think a fair amount of my still-mild optimism for this game comes from how much I just want any way off the rollercoaster of win, lose, win, lose. It is mentally draining enough to the point where I understand fans that have already checked out a little bit through this pattern that Schottenheimer has ingrained into not only the fan’s heads, but worse yet, the team’s attitude itself. Any path to beating the 49ers starts with coming out in the first few minutes and showing they’ve squashed this mentally, which is what excites me most about trying to steal this game.
Sure, a loss may not mathematically eliminate them, but it would likely be yet another example of Schottenheimer and his staff being outcoached thoroughly by Kyle Shanahan’s side in a losing effort. In doing so, the Giants who made the best head coaching hire of the entire offseason would have even more of a stranglehold on the NFC East. These facts make it very hard to not think coaching is the Cowboys’ biggest problem, and one that would make gamedays feel hollow all through December. Is there anything less fun than not being excited to watch talented players because of the coaches holding them back? I think not. Here’s hoping for legitimate new life on the season after Sunday.
Enjoy all the football this weekend Tom, always great to chat!
