The Dallas Cowboys avoided another fourth-quarter collapse in dramatic fashion on Sunday, rallying for a 27-23 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Week 9 of the NFL season.

Trailing by three points with 97 seconds remaining, Dak Prescott needed less than 30 seconds to lead Dallas 65 yards to the winning score, and rookie safety Caleb Downs then intercepted Daniel Jones to seal the win.

Prescott and Lamb star for Dallas

Prescott finished 21 of 34 for 335 yards and two touchdowns, with star receiver CeeDee Lamb catching 10 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, the second-highest receiving total of his career.

Dallas dominated much of the statistical battle, outgaining Indianapolis 508 yards to 271 and holding the ball for 35 minutes and 43 seconds, but self-inflicted wounds kept the game close throughout.

The Cowboys were penalised 14 times for 153 yards and lost two fumbles, including one by Prescott at the Dallas 21-yard line that set up Indianapolis for an early touchdown.

Colts fight back to take late lead

Indianapolis struck first when rookie running back Seth McGowan finished a drive with a two-yard touchdown run, but Dallas responded in the second quarter as Prescott threw touchdown passes to tight end Jake Ferguson and then to Lamb for 44 yards, building a 17-7 half-time lead.

The Colts chipped away after the break. A 55-yard touchdown from Daniel Jones to Ashton Dulin cut the gap, and kicker Spencer Shrader then delivered a 59-yard field goal to level the scores at 20-20 before adding a 50-yarder to give Indianapolis a 23-20 lead with just 1:37 left to play.

It looked as though Dallas were heading for a repeat of the previous week, when they blew a 14-point lead and lost in overtime to Arizona at home. This time, however, Prescott and his offence answered immediately.

Flournoy spark sets up Williams winner

On the first play of the final drive, Prescott went deep down the right sideline and Ryan Flournoy, playing in place of the injured George Pickens, hauled in a 46-yard catch over cornerback Sauce Gardner to instantly put Dallas inside the red zone.

After consecutive Indianapolis penalties set the Cowboys up at the one-yard line, Javonte Williams plunged into the end zone from one yard out to restore the lead at 27-23 with 1:08 remaining. Williams finished the day with 101 rushing yards.

Indianapolis still had just over a minute and two timeouts to work with, but the comeback ended quickly. On third-and-22 from his own 14-yard line, Jones heaved a desperation pass over the middle and Downs came down with the interception, the first of the rookie's career, to end the game.

Colts slide reaches five straight defeats

The defeat was a fifth in a row for the Colts, who fell to 2-7 with the trade deadline approaching on Tuesday and questions growing around the future of the squad. Jones finished 20 of 34 for 180 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while Jonathan Taylor was held to 46 yards on 13 carries.

For Dallas, the win moved them to 4-5 and kept them in the hunt in the NFC East. It was also their first victory of the season when scoring fewer than 30 points, and Prescott's 20th career game-winning drive.

The Cowboys host the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday, while the Colts return home to face the Miami Dolphins.