Indianapolis Colts vs. Dallas Cowboys Sunday Night Football Betting Preview

On Sunday Night Football this week to close out Sunday's Week 13 action, the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts will square off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Both teams enter this game in second place in their respective divisions, though the Cowboys have a much better chance at qualifying for the postseason given the current records of these two teams. Here, the Cowboys are a double-digit home favorite in this primetime matchup.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts lost a tight game in their last outing on Monday Night Football, falling just short against the Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Tonight, they will be a brutal +10.5 point underdog.

In that game, the Colts had trouble stopping the running game of Pittsburgh, something they will need to fix before taking on Tony Pollard and the Cowboys ground game here. But, the biggest concern for the Colts coming into this game has to be protecting quarterback Matt Ryan.

Coming into this contest, the Dallas Cowboys have sacked opposing quarterbacks more than any other team in the NFL. 

That, combined with a lack of mobility from the veteran Ryan, could make this game an ugly one for the Colts if they do not find a way to give Ryan time to throw.

 Whether that means keeping a back in to block or using extra tight ends as blockers, the Colts may have to get creative to protect their signal caller.

Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys’ last game was their annual Thanksgiving home game, which they won against the New York Giants. 

Dallas’ defense was excellent in that game, locking down Saquon Barkley and the Giants’ rushing attack, giving themselves chances to pressure Daniel Jones on third down. Here, the Cowboys pass rush will be expected to get home early and often against the Colts on Sunday night.

Offensively, the Cowboys are operating at a high level since the return of Dak Prescott to their huddle. Prescott and CeeDee Lamb have been operating as a high-powered tandem over the last few weeks, and Michael Gallup has re-emerged as a threat for Dallas since coming back from injury as well. 

Against a respectable Colts defense, both of those receivers will play a key role in this contest.

Keys To The Game

For the Colts, finding a way to run the football is going to be the biggest key to this game. With Dallas’ pass rush expected to put a ton of pressure on Matt Ryan, the best way to alleviate that pressure is going to be running the ball. 

The concern there is that the Cowboys and everyone else knows that the Colts are going to try and run the ball throughout this game, with the key for the Colts being disguising when they are going to run.

For Dallas, meanwhile, the key to this game is going to be remaining sound on the defensive side of the ball. It can be tempting to get overly aggressive on defense in a game like this, where they are heavy favorites. But, the Cowboys have to be judicious with when they bring pressure to avoid a potential upset.

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