Cowboys take NFL's longest 20-point defensive streak to Indianapolis to face sputtering Colts
Dallas has allowed 20 or more points in 15 straight games, and the 2-6 Colts it faces Sunday have scored 17 points total in their recent slide.
The Dallas Cowboys defense has gone almost a full year without holding an opponent under 20 points. Sunday in Indianapolis may be its best chance to change that.
ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports reports that Dallas has allowed at least 20 points in 15 consecutive games. That is the longest active streak in the NFL and the longest in franchise history, and the Cowboys have given up an average of 28.7 points over that run. Mike Florio's column, also carried by Yahoo Sports, argues the Colts are arriving at the right moment for Dallas. Indianapolis has scored 17 points in total since the organization signaled it was rebuilding during the 2026 season. That stretch included road games against two strong defenses in Minnesota and Jacksonville. Trade talk has also surrounded running back Jonathan Taylor, quarterback Daniel Jones and receiver Josh Downs.
The Colts are 2-6 and have lost four in a row, according to FOX 4, which noted that this is the Cowboys' first trip to Indianapolis since 2018. Dallas comes in hurting from its own collapse. Arizona scored 20 points in the fourth quarter last week, wiping out a 14-point Cowboys lead, and won 33-30 in overtime.
This season alone, every opponent has reached 20. The Cowboys have allowed 213 points in eight games, or 26.6 per game. The low-water marks were 20 against Washington and 21 against Philadelphia, both Dallas wins. The offense has been strong enough to cover for that some weeks, at 219 points scored, or about 27.4 per game. Still, Dallas is 3-5, in part because it lost one-score games to Baltimore and Arizona after giving up 34 and 33.
What it means for Sunday
Kickoff at Lucas Oil Stadium is 1 p.m. Eastern on Fox. Dallas has won two of its past four games, winning at Houston and Philadelphia and losing to Tampa Bay and at Green Bay. That Green Bay loss was the only game this season in which the Cowboys failed to reach 20 points themselves.
The market sees this as a game the Cowboys should win. On this site's board, which tracks 12 venues, Dallas is favored at -212 on Novig, with the Colts at +208. The spread has the Cowboys favored by 4.5, priced at +102 on Novig. The total sits at 51.5 on Novig, with the over at -102 and the under at -100. The best under price anywhere is BetMGM's -110 at 52. Sportsbook hold on the game ranges from 2.8% to 5.2% depending on the venue and market.
Those numbers don't put much stock in the streak ending. A total of 51.5 with Dallas favored by 4.5 works out to roughly 23 or 24 points for Indianapolis. That would make 16 straight games, even against an offense that has barely scored lately. If the Cowboys hold the Colts to fewer than 20, it would beat the market's expectation and end a franchise-record run.
The following week is harder. San Francisco visits on November 15, and the 49ers are favored at -208 on Novig, with the best price anywhere at DraftKings' -198. Dallas is +178 on Novig in that game.
