The Dallas Cowboys don’t exactly have an easy draw during the 2026 NFL season. Not only is the NFC East much-improved, but facing off against the NFC West and AFC South, which boasted a combined five playoff teams and a Super Bowl champion last year, will be no small task. Dallas has to face perennial powers like the Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles (twice), as well as rising teams like the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Yes, the Cowboys have some “easier” games, if such a thing exists in the NFL, with matchups against the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans and New York Giants on the docket. Some of Dallas’ opponents, however, are quite difficult to figure out, namely the Indianapolis Colts. Luckily, for readers of The Landry Hat, we went across the conference and behind the curtain to speak to Lee Vowell, the site expert atHorseshoe Heroes, which is FanSided’s hub of Colts info. Vowell is an authority on the Colts and provided some premier access to the Cowboys’ Week 9 foe.
Dallas Cowboys can’t know what version of Indianapolis Colts they’ll face in Week 9
Q: The Colts started out hot in 2025, but their season got derailed by injuries, among other things. Is there faith in the building and fanbase that the 2026 Colts will be more like the fall version of last year, as opposed to the winter version?
A: The simple answer is yes. In fact, ownership is betting on the team resembling the fall edition, which is why there was such a great need to re-sign quarterback Daniel Jones and wide receiver Alec Pierce, as the team didn’t do much else in bringing in high-impact free agents from other teams.
Injuries did take a brutal toll on the team midway through last season and the rest of the way (Jones was lost in Week 14, Charvarius Ward suffered three different concussions and missed a chunk of time, DeForest Buckner only played in one game after Week 9, and Sauce Gardner missed four of the eight games he could have been involved in after the team traded for him). The team is counting on better health, meaning better success.
