Cowboys Steal 27-23 Win Over Colts as Javonte Williams Scores With 1:08 Left

Javonte Williams punched in a one-yard touchdown with 1:08 to play on Sunday, Nov. 8, and the Dallas Cowboys escaped Lucas Oil Stadium with a 27-23 win over the Indianapolis Colts, according to Fox59. The score came moments after the Colts grabbed a lead that Dallas had spent the afternoon helping them build.

A cushion that disappeared

Dallas led 17-7 at halftime, but Yahoo Sports reports the Cowboys blew that advantage. The Cowboys' official recap says Dallas outgained Indianapolis 508 yards to 271, yet was flagged 14 times for 153 yards and lost two fumbles.

Then came the kicking drama. CBS Sports reports that Shrader hit a 59-yard field goal to tie the game with 5:56 left, a kick Yardbarker calls a career long. Brandon Aubrey then missed a 50-yard try with 3:30 remaining, according to NBC Sports. Shrader answered with a 50-yarder that put Indianapolis up 23-20 with 1:37 left.

Twenty-nine seconds

ESPN says Dak Prescott needed just 29 seconds to bail Dallas out. The CBS Sports play log shows a 46-yard pass to Ryan Flournoy, a pass-interference penalty, and then Williams' one-yard run. The log stamps the score at 1:10 while recaps say 1:08, a small gap between sources.

Williams finished with 101 rushing yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, per NBC Sports. The Cowboys' recap says Prescott threw for 335 yards and two scores, and CeeDee Lamb caught 10 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown. TSN, citing ESPN, calls it the 28th fourth-quarter comeback of Prescott's career.

Why Dallas needed this one

The backstory explains the relief. TSN/ESPN reports Dallas let chances slip against Baltimore in Rio de Janeiro and again last week against Arizona, and also lost in Week 5 to a Tampa Bay team that had not yet won. ESPN's framing was that Williams' touchdown helped the Cowboys avoid another fourth-quarter collapse.

A family affair

The afternoon had a sibling subplot. The Cowboys' recap says that on third-and-22 from his own 14, Daniel Jones threw a desperation pass that rookie Caleb Downs intercepted, the first of his career. The Dallas Morning News says Kenny Clark had Jones under pressure on the throw.

Fox59 notes Downs is the younger brother of Colts receiver Josh Downs, and ESPN adds that 15 members of the Downs family attended.

What it means

The loss was Indianapolis' fifth straight and left the Colts at 2-7, according to the Colts' site. Dallas improved to 4-5. According to NFL.com, the Cowboys sit second in the NFC East behind the Giants at 5-2-1, and TSN/ESPN says New York holds the tiebreaker because of its Week 1 win over Dallas.