Should Cowboys Over-Celebrate Win Over JV Colts? Whitt's End Top 10

Last Sunday I was forced to edit my list of the worst all-time Dallas Cowboys’ losses. If there was such a thing, this Sunday I’d be adding to the list of their worst all-time wins.

The Cowboys beat the Indianapolis Colts, 27-23. But, yeah, it was worse than ugly.

My Top 10 Whitty Observations:

10. APOLITICAL MESSAGE – How refreshing was it to watch an entire NFL game without a blitz of political ads in your face every timeout?

Now if we could just get rid of sideline “reporters” and their cute little pre-fabricated vignettes that have nothing to do with actual reporting and could easily be communicated to us by the announcers in the booth.

Zero need, for example, for FOX to have Kristina Pink “report” that Cowboys’ rookie Caleb Downs had 16 family members at the game. Why not just have Drew Brees tell us?

9. UNBELIEVABLE, YET TOTALLY ON BRAND – For the third time in six weeks, I was preparing to add to my Top 10 list of Cowboys’ all-time worst losses.

With another Brian Schottenheimer strategy gaffe and a 50-yard pulled field goal by Brandon Aubrey, it looked bleak trailing 23-20 and only 1:37 remaining. CeeDee Lamb stuffed the stat sheet, but it was Ryan Flournoy’s one-hand, 46-yard grab – while clearly being interfered with by Colts’ All-Pro cornerback Sauce Gardner – that saved the day, saved the season, saved Schottenheimer’s job and, yes, saved me another round of depressing editing.

8. PREMATURE EXULTATION – At the risk of sounding like the old man yelling for the kids to “get off my lawn!”, excessive player celebrations after every single play are greatly diminishing my NFL viewing experience.

Cases in point: P.J. Locke, accessorized by DeMarvion Overshown. On the Colts’ third offensive snap, Locke made a nice tackle that forced a punt. The score was 3-0. We were less than five minutes into the game.

But how did Locke react?

After the play he enthusiastically scrambled to his feet and skipped 10 yards down the field, preening and flexing the entire way as though his stop had sealed the Super Bowl.

Fast-forward to the third quarter, when it was none other than Locke who embarrassingly whiffed on a tackle at the 50 that allowed Ashton Dulin’s 55-yard touchdown pass.

Moral to the story: Maybe save some energy for when you really need it.

I’ve called out DeMarvion Overshown for the same thing over the last couple of years. But he was a different sort of clown-show liability in this one, running on the field – despite being injured and not playing – to celebrate a fumble recovery in the fourth quarter.

Said referee Clay Martin in pinning the 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on Overshown, “A non-uniformed player in blue sweats and a stocking cap ran onto the field to celebrate.”

Think Tom Landry or Jimmy Johnson would put up with this undisciplined foolishness?

7. MIRRORED MEDDLING – When long-time Colts’ owner Jim Irsay passed away in May of 2025, his daughter took over the team as CEO.

Now Carlie Irsay-Gordon watches games from the Colts’ bench, listening to her team’s communications via headset and scribbling notes to relay to coaches. Jerry Jones gets criticized for being a meddling owner, but he stopped going down to the sidelines during games in the Bill Parcells era around 2005.

Imagine if Jerry did what Irsay-Gordon does.

6. KEYSTONE COPS – In a sloppy game befitting teams that were a combined 5-11, the Cowboys and Colts combined for four turnovers and 23 penalties for 220 yards. One play in particular personified the putridness: Lamb made a sliding catch for a first down along the sideline and, inexplicably, Colts’ rookie defensive back Kenneth Harris casually jogged past him without touching down as tackle.

Smartly, Lamb got up and raced down field for a 48-yard gain. At the Colts’ 9-yard line, however, he was tripped from behind and fell to the ground with the back of his hand contacting the turf and losing control of the ball. After review, the play was ruled a fumble and the ball was recovered by – you guessed it – Harris.

Can’t make this stuff up.

5. CRAPPY COACHING – After last week’s loss to the Cardinals, I wrote that Brian Schottenheimer should be fired. Michael Irvin went a step further, saying his “dead mom” could coach the Cowboys better. Despite this win, neither one of us saw any reason to change our mind.

Schottenheimer is simply too much "fun'' and not enough "fundamentals.''

In the fourth quarter he declined two simultaneous penalties on the Colts, negating what would have been a 4th-and-11 and a 61-yard field goal attempt by Indy. With the extra down, the Colts gained 12 yards and booted a 59-yarder to tie the score at 20-20 with 5:56 remaining.

It’s coaching malpractice, seriously. The Cowboys have won four games despite their head coach, not because of him.

4. SIX RINGS? – I can’t watch a Cowboys-Colts game without painful memories of Super Bowl V in January 1971. Those of a certain age will remember Johnny Unitas’ deflected 75-yard touchdown pass that should have been negated by an “illegal touching” penalty. Even worse, center Dave Manders emerged from a pile with the football at Baltimore’s 1-yard line but was ignored by officials who awarded the key fumble to the Colts.

If that game was played with today’s replay rules, the Cowboys would have six Super Bowl rings.

3. LEANING ON LAMB – With George Pickens out with an injury, the Cowboys relied on Lamb – already the NFL’s most popular target – even more than usual. And, boy, did the 16 passes thrown his way ever result in a fascinating day. How about 10 catches, 195 yards, one touchdown, two offensive pass interference penalties, and one wild 48-yard catch-fall-and-run that ended in a fumble?

2. THE THREE STOOGES – A win is a win is a win is a win. But hard to gloat about going 2-1 in a three-game stretch playing quarterbacks Tanner McKee (Eagles), Jacoby Brissett-Gardner Minshew (Cardinals) and Daniel Jones (Colts).

Recess, however, is over. Next Sunday the Cowboys host Brock Purdy and the powerhouse San Francisco 49ers.

1. SHEEPISH SUCCESS – The Colts entered the game 2-6. The Colts last week announced they are tanking the season, trading away two of their best players in exchange for future draft picks.

The Colts lost a week ago, 42-7.

The Cowboys didn’t score the winning touchdown until 29 seconds remained, and only because the Colts let Javonte Williams walk in from one yard out to preserve time on the clock.

It beats the heck out of losing, but let’s be honest: this is one of the lamest wins in the franchise’s 67-year history. Downs celebrating his game-clinching interception by mockingly waving goodbye to fans and the entire defense dancing in the end zone at the end of this one was embarrassing.

You beat the Indy JV, barely. Act like it.