Latest news gives Cowboys a huge edge over Colts
The Indianapolis Colts don't have an offense that strikes fear in anybody's heart. But the Dallas Cowboys know they shouldn't waltz into Sunday Night Football unprepared for a team that's managed to keep it close even against the best of the best in the NFL. In big part, that's because of the Colts defense. A […]
The Indianapolis Colts don't have an offense that strikes fear in anybody's heart. But the Dallas Cowboys know they shouldn't waltz into Sunday Night Football unprepared for a team that's managed to keep it close even against the best of the best in the NFL.
In big part, that's because of the Colts defense. A unit coached by Dan Quinn's friend Gus Bradley has remained a highly productive one even without star LB Shaquill Leonard healthy.
The Cowboys will be facing the 13th-best defense in the league per DVOA which happens to have a very legit defensive line that could stop the team's running game. After all, the Colts held Philadelphia Eagles RB Miles Sanders to just 3.6 yards per carry in Week 11. Even the best offensive line in football struggled against Bradley's defense.
But the Cowboys will have a massive advantage over the Colts when they square off against each other this weekend.
According to The Athletic's Zak Keefer, Colts' starting slot cornerback Kenny Moore II won't play on Sunday. The veteran suffered a shin injury that could keep him off of the field for multiple weeks.
Moore II was absent from Thursday's practice, the first for the Colts since they played on Monday Night.
The news solves one of the biggest problems the Cowboys were slated to face on Sunday. Moore II has been lights out this year and was going to be a headache for Dallas.
Additionally, former Defensive Player of the Year CB Stephon Gilmore will likely continue lining up outside the vast majority of plays which allows CeeDee Lamb to find a favorable matchup inside against a backup corner.
Dak Prescott likely remembers Gilmore quite well from when he faced him in New England in 2019. I wouldn't be surprised if the quarterback tries to stay away from him as much as possible. After all, Gilmore is still playing at a high level. He's allowed a 76.8 passer rating this season in 63 targets.
Kellen Moore loves to get Lamb inside as Dallas' wide receiver has the third-most targets out of the slot in the NFL.
Against a backup cornerback, that's an area to exploit against a defense that still uses a lot of single-high defenses (although Bradley has mixed things up recently). If Prescott can exploit this mismatch on Sunday, the Cowboys should cruise to their ninth win of the season.
Featured image via Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
