After a demoralizing loss to the lowly Arizona Cardinals a week prior, the Dallas Cowboys needed a bounce-back performance in the worst way on Sunday. Sitting at 3-5, Dallas had to leave Indianapolis with a win if they wanted any hope of staying in the playoff hunt.
While it was not always pretty, the Cowboys showed up on both sides of the ball when it mattered most. Both the offense and defense came through late in the fourth quarter, leading to a crucial 27-23 win over the Colts.
The Cowboys had some standout players on both sides of the ball, but rookie safety Caleb Downs had his first signature game. Downs, playing against his older brother Josh for the first time in their professional careers, was a leading force in the victory, earning him this week’s game ball award.
Expectations were sky-high for Downs at the beginning of his rookie campaign. While the 21-year-old had shown flashes of greatness in Dallas’ first eight games, we’d yet to see him take over a game as he did at Ohio State. For the first time in his NFL career, Downs did just that on Sunday.
Downs and Quinnen Williams were the best defenders on the field on Sunday afternoon. Downs showed his ability to impact the game in multiple ways, finishing with a sack, a PBU, and a game-sealing interception in the fourth quarter.
Downs finished the game with the highest coverage grade of any defender, recording a remarkable 90.6 mark. We’ve seen the Ohio State product struggle a bit in coverage early on in his career, but Sunday was a different story. Indianapolis completed just one of four passes when targeting Downs for a total of 12 yards.
If the Cowboys defense wants to get closer to league-average moving forward, Caleb Downs playing like he did on Sunday will be a huge help.