So many people are getting the Dallas Cowboys’ win over the Indianapolis Colts all wrong. The popular take is that it doesn’t matter. It does.

To be fair, some of the skepticism is reasonable. Stopping Daniel Jones and company doesn’t prove much on its own. Running the football against Indianapolis isn’t a huge deal either, considering the Colts had one of the worst run defenses in the NFL heading into Week 9. Both of those points are fair.

But the Cowboys winning keeps them alive in the NFC East.

Why the win over the Colts mattered for the NFC East race

I have plenty of questions about what Dallas would do if it even reaches the playoffs. Still, the numbers in the A to Z Sports playoff simulator are clear. With a loss to the Colts, the Cowboys would have dropped from a 34% chance of winning the division to 17%. That’s cutting their odds in half.

So yes, winning mattered. Dallas stays in the hunt, and that matters even more with Tuesday’s trade deadline approaching.

Still, let’s keep it in perspective. Sure, this is what the Cowboys needed to do. They should have won in a more dominant fashion. Beating a team you’re supposed to beat is the lowest bar in the NFL. But it’s the same bar they failed to clear against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5, the New York Giants in Week 1, and most recently, the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8.

At the very least, they got the job done. Let’s jump into the takeaways. 

Takeaway 1: Quinnen Williams and Caleb Downs lead an improved defense

The defense showed real improvement. You have to factor in the opponent, but Quinnen Williams is taking over. He finished with three tackles for loss and forced a Jonathan Taylor fumble.

Williams said the Cowboys needed to execute, and he’s been executing for four straight games. He has four sacks in that span, and he’s impacting the game left and right. Each week, he looks more comfortable in the scheme, and Sunday was no exception.

Kenny Clark had some nice moments as well, though he remains inconsistent. On one of the Colts’ touchdowns, he drags an offensive lineman but can’t get off the block in time to make the tackle, and Indianapolis scores on an easy rushing touchdown. Still, having those two play good football up front gives Dallas something it had been missing. I’m still worried about the edge rushers, but this was encouraging.

Then there’s Caleb Downs. The first-round rookie recorded a sack, an interception, and a handful of pass breakups and big-time tackles. This was the first game where Downs truly took over. That was fun to watch, especially because he’s faced heavy criticism lately. When you watch his struggles on film, you realize they’re a symptom of a flawed defense as a whole. Downs isn’t the problem.

Takeaway 2: Christian Parker was cooking

This felt like a game in which Christian Parker got more creative and dictated terms.

Take the Downs sack. The Cowboys showed a simulated pressure, putting more than four players at the line of scrimmage and selling a blitz. Dallas only rushed four, but one of them was Downs off the left edge, and he went untouched for the second sack of his career.

That’s the kind of nuance I want to keep seeing. The film review will tell us more, but that was my initial impression watching live.

Takeaway 3: Several Cowboys offensive players stepped up

No George Pickens? No problem. Dak Prescott found CeeDee Lamb for 195 yards. We can talk about Lamb’s mistakes, but the conversation has been that teams can’t double Lamb because they also have to worry about Pickens. That’s not what we saw Sunday. Dallas consistently found ways to get Lamb the football anyway.

Then with the game on the line, the broadcast expected Prescott to look for No. 88. Instead, he went to No. 19, and Ryan Flournoy hauled in a 48-yard pass. Credit to Prescott for trusting Flournoy under pressure, and credit to Flournoy for stepping up in Pickens’ absence.

Tyler Goodson deserves a shout too. He averaged more than six yards per carry, and that could be massive for an offense struggling to find consistency on the ground.

When the Cowboys signed Javonte Williams in 2025, he was never going to be a workhorse. He was supposed to be part of a committee. Yet it often feels like Williams carries the load while Goodson only plays when Williams is tired. I’d like to see Dallas stick with something closer to the 50-50 split it used Sunday. Both backs are physical, and both are getting yards after contact.

Now, the Colts have one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles aren’t faring much better. The Cowboys need to prove this against better opponents without getting stubborn about it.

Bonus takeaway: Less reliance on Brandon Aubrey

This one is a negative. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer made his stance clear in his postgame press conference.

“We’re fortunate we have the best kicker in the league,” Schottenheimer said about Aubrey. “And again, my money is on him every time he goes out there.” 

Here’s the thing about that trust: it might be hurting the Cowboys. Think back to the end-of-half sequence where Dallas sent Aubrey out for a 50-yard field goal, only for what looked like a bad snap to derail it. That was a massive moment that could have cost the Cowboys the game.

Dallas needs to stop playing conservative and settling for field goals. I want Schottenheimer to try to win games with the offense, not special teams. The Cowboys keep getting themselves into trouble this way.

For now, Dallas is 4-5, and fans should celebrate the win.