INDIANAPOLIS — The T-shirts and hats can wait.
Instead of winning their second NFC East title in three seasons to earn the right to wear those shirts and hats with a victory, the Dallas Cowboys of the first half of the season showed up in their 23-0 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium.
It was the first time the Cowboys have been shut out in a game since Bill Parcells’ first year as coach in 2003, when they lost 12-0 to the New England Patriots in Week 11. Dak Prescott was 10 years old at the time.
The common thread between the two games? Adam Vinatieri was the opposing kicker in both.
Sunday’s defeat was the Cowboys’ biggest shutout loss since a 31-0 drubbing at the Tennessee Titans in 2000. That Dallas team finished 5-11. This team was looking like a contender in the NFC before Sunday.
The Cowboys had their worst performance of the season. In the first half, they had possessions of 10, 15 and 14 plays and gained 179 yards — and didn’t score a point.
The last time that happened in the NFL came in Week 3 of the 2016, when the New York Jets saw three possessions of 10 plays or more end in three Ryan Fitzpatrick interceptions. The last time the Cowboys were shut out in the first half was in their 16-8 season-opening loss to the Carolina Panthers.
The Cowboys’ opening drive ended with a blocked field goal, the first time that has happened since 2014. Their second drive ended when Ezekiel Elliott was stopped on fourth and 1 at the Colts’ 3, a play after Jamize Olawale dropped a potential game-tying touchdown pass.
Dallas lost starting left guard Xavier Su’a-Filo to an eye injury on the fourth-down play and was already without starting right guard Zack Martin, who missed the first game of his career
The third drive ended with Dak Prescott getting sacked when Tyquan Lewis beat Su’a-Filo’s replacement, Adam Redmond.
If the offensive woes weren’t bad enough, the Cowboys’ defense was lifeless. That was even more surprising considering how Rod Marinelli’s unit had played all season.
The Colts scored on five of their eight possessions. The most egregious was the opening drive of the second half, when the Cowboys still had a fighting chance after trailing 10-0 at halftime. Instead, they allowed the Colts to go 75 yards on eight plays on a drive that ended in Marlon Mack‘s second touchdown run.