TL;DR
- Series record: Dallas leads the all-time Colts-Cowboys series 11-6.
- Current form: Dallas arrives at 3-5 and Indianapolis at 2-6, so both teams are fighting to keep the season alive.
- Quarterbacks: Dak Prescott has 2,046 passing yards, 14 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Daniel Jones has 1,542 yards, 5 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.
- Running backs: Jonathan Taylor (610 yards, 8 TDs) and Javonte Williams (528 yards, 8 TDs) are level on rushing scores.
- Biggest mismatch: Dallas allows 152.8 rushing yards per game, while the Colts’ passing game ranks 31st in dropback EPA.
- Last meeting: Dallas won 54-19 after a 33-point fourth quarter, powered by five Colts turnovers.
The Colts and Cowboys do not meet often, so every game produces a fresh set of numbers worth studying. This guide collects the most useful Indianapolis Colts vs Dallas Cowboys match player stats in one place: current season leaders, a position-by-position comparison, the all-time record and the data from their most recent clash.
Indianapolis Colts vs Dallas Cowboys Match Player Stats: Latest Updates
Week 9 Setup at Lucas Oil Stadium
Dallas travels to Indianapolis for a Week 9 interconference game that carries more weight than the records suggest. The Cowboys sit at 3-5, while the Colts come in at 2-6 after a 42-7 loss in Jacksonville. Neither side can afford another slip.
The scoring profile is lopsided. Dallas averages 27.4 points per game, which ranks 7th in the league, while Indianapolis averages 20.1, which ranks 26th. On paper, the Cowboys own the more dangerous offense, but their defense is the reason this game is competitive at all.
Injury and Roster News Shaping the Stats
Several storylines could change who produces on Sunday:
- Dallas: Rookie safety Caleb Downs entered the concussion protocol, and tight end Jake Ferguson (ankle) was listed as questionable during the week. Linebacker Dee Winters and tight end Luke Schoonmaker also appeared on the injury report.
- Indianapolis: The Colts traded guard Quenton Nelson to Seattle, which forces a rebuilt interior line. Wideout Josh Downs has requested a trade, and running back Jonathan Taylor has been dealing with trade chatter of his own.
- A brotherly subplot: Josh Downs of the Colts and Caleb Downs of the Cowboys are brothers, and their potential matchup is one of the more talked-about individual battles of the week.
Injury designations change quickly, so check the official team reports before building any lineup or prediction around a single player.
Colts vs Cowboys Head-to-Head Player Stats Comparison
The table below places each team’s leaders side by side using current-season numbers through Week 8.
| Category | Indianapolis Colts | Dallas Cowboys | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Daniel Jones: 162/268, 1,542 yds, 5 TD, 9 INT, 68.7 rating | Dak Prescott: 197/302, 2,046 yds, 14 TD, 5 INT, 93.2 rating | Cowboys |
| Times Sacked (QB) | 22 | 11 | Cowboys |
| Lead Rusher | Jonathan Taylor: 148 carries, 610 yds, 8 TD | Javonte Williams: 134 carries, 528 yds, 8 TD | Colts (yards) |
| Lead Receiver | Josh Downs: 30 rec, 330 yds, 1 TD | CeeDee Lamb: 60 rec, 709 yds, 6 TD | Cowboys |
| Sack Leader | Adetomiwa Adebawore: 4 | Quinnen Williams: 5 | Cowboys |
| Top Tackler | Akeem Davis-Gaither: 65 | Caleb Downs (rookie safety) | Colts (volume) |
| Kicker (FG) | Spencer Shrader: 19/21 | Brandon Aubrey: 15/19 | Colts |
| Points Per Game | 20.1 (26th) | 27.4 (7th) | Cowboys |
The Cowboys win most columns, but the rushing and kicking rows show where Indianapolis can stay in the game.
Quarterback Stats: Prescott vs Jones
This is the clearest gap on the board. Prescott has thrown for nearly 500 more yards than Jones in the same number of games and owns a 14-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Jones is on the opposite end, with five touchdowns against nine picks and a passer rating below 70.
Pressure explains part of the divide. Jones has been sacked 22 times, double Prescott’s total of 11, and Indianapolis ranks 31st in dropback EPA. When a quarterback is hurried this often, completion percentage and yards per attempt both suffer.
Running Back Stats: Taylor vs Williams
The ground game is where the Colts have the strongest case. Taylor has 610 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 148 carries, including 18 runs of 10 or more yards. Williams has produced 528 yards and eight scores on 134 attempts for Dallas.
Both backs are productive, but the matchup favors Taylor. Dallas allows roughly 152.8 rushing yards per game, ranks 29th in rush EPA allowed, and one betting preview noted the Cowboys concede more than five yards per carry. If Indianapolis wants to keep Prescott on the sideline, Taylor is the key.
Receiver Stats: Lamb vs the Colts Secondary
CeeDee Lamb has 709 receiving yards and six touchdowns on 60 catches, nearly doubling the production of any Colts pass catcher. Josh Downs leads Indianapolis with 330 yards, and tight end Tyler Warren has contributed two touchdowns.
The Colts have one tool to slow Lamb down: cornerback Sauce Gardner, who will be tested alongside Charvarius Ward against Lamb and George Pickens.
Defensive Stats: Pass Rush and Run Stopping
Quinnen Williams leads Dallas with five sacks and an 11.8% pressure rate. Since Week 6 he leads all defensive tackles with 15 pressures and four sacks. That matters because the Colts’ tackle pair of Bernhard Raimann and Jalen Travis has allowed a 13.0% pressure rate, one of the highest figures among tackle duos.
On the other side, the Cowboys’ defense is the league’s weakest by EPA per play (0.133, ranked 32nd), and opponents convert 51.4% of their third downs against it. Indianapolis does not need a big passing day to exploit that, only sustained drives.
Colts vs Cowboys All-Time Series Record
Dallas holds the lead at 11-6, but the series history is stranger than a simple tally suggests.
- The first meeting (1960): Baltimore crushed the expansion Cowboys 45-7.
- The Dallas era: The Cowboys later flipped the series, including a six-game win streak over the Colts from 1972 through 1993.
- The “Blunder Bowl”: One of the franchises’ most famous meetings was a Super Bowl remembered for its sloppy, turnover-filled play.
- Recent results: The last two meetings ended 23-0 and 54-19, which tells you how lopsided this matchup can become when one team wins the turnover battle.
Because the teams only meet every few seasons, players rarely have film or personal experience against each other. That gap helps explain why this series produces so many outlier stat lines.
Last Meeting: Colts vs Cowboys Match Player Stats From the 54-19 Game
The 2022 Sunday-night game is the most relevant recent data point, and it is a useful case study in how fast a close game can collapse.
Indianapolis led 10-7 after the first quarter, and Dallas led just 21-19 heading into the fourth. Then the Cowboys scored 33 points in the final quarter, tying for the second-most points in a single quarter in NFL history. Four takeaways led directly to touchdowns.
Team Stats From the 2022 Game
| Stat | Indianapolis Colts | Dallas Cowboys |
|---|---|---|
| Final Score | 19 | 54 |
| Total Net Yards | 309 | 385 |
| First Downs | 18 | 23 |
| Turnovers | 5 | 1 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 4 of 13 | 7 of 13 |
| Red Zone | 2 of 3 | 4 of 4 |
| Penalties | 6 for 88 yards | 3 for 43 yards |
| Time of Possession | 31:19 | 28:41 |
Notice the possession line. The Colts held the ball longer, but turnovers erased that advantage completely.
Player Performances Worth Remembering
- Dak Prescott: Threw three touchdown passes, two to Michael Gallup and one to CeeDee Lamb.
- Tony Pollard: Rushed for 91 yards on 12 carries and scored twice.
- Ezekiel Elliott: Added 77 yards on 17 carries and a short touchdown.
- Malik Hooker: Returned a fumble 38 yards for a touchdown against his former team.
- Matt Ryan: Threw two touchdown passes early but finished the night as the league’s individual leader in giveaways.
The 2022 box score is a reminder that the better team on paper is not always the better team on the scoreboard, and that turnover margin overrides almost every other category.
Key Matchups That Will Decide the Next Colts vs Cowboys Player Stats
Jonathan Taylor vs the Cowboys Run Defense
Taylor’s production is the most reliable Colts stat in the matchup. One prop-betting preview set a line of 85 rushing yards for him, citing Dallas as the worst run defense in the league by yards and yards per carry. A strong first half from Taylor would also protect Jones from the pressure that has hurt him all year.
Quinnen Williams vs the Colts Interior Line
Indianapolis starts a rookie, Jalen Farmer, at left guard after the Nelson trade. In his first career start, Farmer allowed two pressures on 37 pass-blocking snaps, a 5.4% pressure rate, which is respectable. Still, Williams has been the most disruptive interior force in Dallas this season, so this is the matchup to monitor on every third down.
Prescott and the Dallas Offense vs a Thinner Colts Front
Indianapolis is thinner up front, and Adebawore, who has four sacks and recently signed a large extension, is the interior player Dallas must account for. If the Cowboys neutralize him, Prescott should have time to find Lamb in the intermediate game.
The Downs Brothers
Josh Downs has 30 catches for 330 yards, while Caleb Downs has been targeted heavily in coverage, giving up 16 catches on 17 targets over his previous five games according to PFF. Expect Dallas to test the rookie early and often.
Final Verdict on Indianapolis Colts vs Dallas Cowboys Match Player Stats
The numbers lean toward Dallas in the passing game, the pass rush and the red zone. Prescott is far more efficient than Jones, Lamb is the most productive receiver on either roster, and Quinnen Williams can disrupt a Colts line that has already lost a cornerstone.
Indianapolis, however, has real counters. Taylor can run on a defense that has struggled against the ground game all season, the Colts’ kicking has been reliable, and home field gives them a platform to shorten the game. The side that avoids turnovers will almost certainly win, just as in 2022.
If you track only a few stats during the game, watch these three: Taylor’s yards per carry, Dallas’ third-down defense, and the turnover margin. Together, they tell the story of the next Colts vs Cowboys result better than any highlight.
