The Dallas Cowboys scored a touchdown with 1:08 left to beat the Indianapolis Colts 27-23 at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday, handing the Colts a fifth consecutive defeat in a game Indianapolis had led with 97 seconds remaining.

Dak Prescott needed only 29 seconds to drive Dallas 65 yards after Spencer Shrader's 50-yard field goal had put the Colts ahead 23-20 with 1:37 left. Javonte Williams, who finished with 101 rushing yards, punched in the go-ahead score from one yard out, and rookie Caleb Downs sealed the win with his first career interception of Daniel Jones with 35 seconds left.

Colts let a late lead slip away

The Colts had fought back from a 20-10 deficit to take the lead, and ESPN's analytics gave them an 81.5 per cent chance of winning after Shrader's kick. But the lead lasted barely a minute. Prescott moved Dallas quickly downfield, and Williams' touchdown was followed by the interception that ended Indianapolis' hopes.

It was another painful finish for a team that has now lost 14 of its last 16 games. The Colts fell to 2-7, and the defeat came two days before the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, 10 November, with the club already in rebuild mode after firing general manager Chris Ballard and trading away team captains Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner.

Mistakes prove costly again

Jones finished 20 of 34 for 180 yards with a touchdown and an interception, but the Colts' mistakes at key moments proved decisive. Jonathan Taylor lost a fourth-quarter fumble at the Dallas 18-yard line, and receiver Josh Downs managed only three catches for 24 yards, dropping two passes on crucial third downs.

The worst of those drops came late in the fourth quarter, when the Colts held the ball on the Cowboys' 32-yard line and needed to convert on third-and-eight to run down the clock and set up a game-winning field goal. Instead, they settled for Shrader's 50-yard kick, which left Dallas with more than 90 seconds to answer.

Downs did not hide from his performance afterwards. "I stunk," he said, after a display that left him with a career-low 57.9 per cent catch rate on his targets this season.

Gardner takes the blame

Cornerback Sauce Gardner also put the defeat on himself, saying the game was on him after Dallas receiver Ryan Flournoy's late catch helped set up the winning touchdown.

Dallas finished with 508 total yards to Indianapolis' 271, yet the Colts still had a late lead and a chance to end their losing run. Head coach Shane Steichen pointed after the game to the same execution problems that have run through the team during the slide.

The Colts host the Miami Dolphins next Sunday, while the Cowboys will look to build on a win that keeps their own season moving in the right direction.