The Cowboys’ Season Is on the Line Against the Colts

I have no problem saying this: the Dallas Cowboys’ season is 100% on the line in today’s matchup against the Indianapolis Colts.

Inevitably, if they do find a way to lose, we’ll hear “we have a lot of football left,” or “we’re not panicking,” from either the Head Coach, owner/GM, quarterback, or, most likely, all of the above.

Here’s the problem with that infuriating line we’ve been getting force-fed: you reach a point in the season where it’s wrong, and I fear that’s where we are now.

Matt McClearin

@McMattRadio

They can say there’s a lot of football left. There’s 9 games left. Getting to 9-8 means a 6-3 finish. They still play SF, SEA, LAR and JAX. Good luck. IND and TEN. Along with PHI, WSH and NYG again. There’s 6 wins in there? Nope.

5:28 PM · Nov 1, 2026

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If you don’t win today, you will not be able to win the remaining games you’d need to get back in the playoff hunt. The remaining schedule, the Giants’ record, and the lack of confidence they’ll have as a 3-6 team will be too much to overcome.

Cowboys Cannot Afford a Loss in Indianapolis

(5/118, or 4.24% of NFL teams that started 3-6 have made the playoffs since 2000)

To put the stat above in shorter terms, 3–6 teams do not make the postseason. I don’t care how bad the NFC East is, what the road ahead looks like, or what bone-headed trades Jerry Jones tries to make to “save the season.” The numbers don’t lie.

You can’t salvage this thing if you can’t even beat the Colts, who have fired their General Manager and are going through a full-on fire sale that will likely include All-Pro RB Jonathan Taylor.

If you didn’t have some of the NFL’s best ahead on the schedule, maybe you could convince me it’s possible, but San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Jacksonville will walk this team like a dog with how they are playing right now.

Aside from the tangible stuff, it’s also the confidence aspect I mentioned.

This is increasingly looking like a team with little spirit, especially after they somehow blew a 10-point late lead over the Cardinals at home last week. Schotty’s “fire”, in particular, seems to be flaming out by the week at this point.

Ari Meirov

@MySportsUpdate

The #Cardinals have won 9 of their last 10 games vs. the #Cowboys.

Unreal. Dallas falls to 3-5.

3:40 PM · Nov 1, 2026

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As many have said, the team is reaching a point where you can’t blame one unit, coach, player, etc. When you play this poorly this long into the season, maybe you’re just bad?

If they can’t find a way to beat Indianapolis, I think that hypothesis has been proven true. If you don’t win today, you might not even beat Philadelphia, Tennessee, or Washington in the “easy games” ahead.