Dallas Cowboys: 3 Big takeaways from loss vs. Colts in Week 15

2. The defense didn’t have ‘IT’ in Week 15

Boy oh boy, the defense of the Dallas Cowboys, otherwise known as the “Hot Boyz” were cold on Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. This was a tough game to watch in a number of ways for the defense. At times they were put in tough spots from how the offense performed, though other times they had no answers for Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and running back Marion Mack.

Luck finished 16-of-27 for 192 yards with no touchdown passes or interceptions, while he also had 20 yards rushing on six carries. Mack was the man in charge of the Colts offense with 27 carries for 139 yards with two touchdowns. Mack rushed for 5.1 yards per carry, and he also had one reception for 10 yards for a touchdown reception.

It was impressive the Cowboys kept Luck from throwing a touchdown pass, and they were able to keep T.Y. Hilton from beating them as well, though he had five receptions for 85 yards, but the problem was they were unable to stop Mack as well.

Standing out for the Cowboys defense was Jaylon Smith with 11 tackles, while Damien Wilson and Dorance Armstrong each had tackles for a loss. The only other thing that stood out was Byron Jones, Antwaun Woods and Xavier Woods each had a pass defensed, but for the game none of those players had a game worth bragging about.

A defensive performance like the one the Cowboys had on Sunday against the Colts is one that most likely won’t happen too many times the rest of this season. For that to happen, the offense is going to have to do more than what they did to leave the defense in a better position than they were in when they took the field.