The Dallas Cowboys narrowly escaped with a 27-23 win over the struggling Indianapolis Colts, improving to 4-5. Dallas remains in the NFC East race, but its shaky performances this season haven’t done much to convince the fanbase.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s postgame comments Sunday only added to the frustration. Rather than address the team’s struggles, he praised his players’ heart and resilience.
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Schottenheimer seemed pleased with his team’s ability to find a way to win after losing three of its previous four games. He told reporters, “The best way to learn how to win is to win and to finish.
“This game is crazy. The game of pro football is crazy. And this team we just played, they lost badly last week. We knew they were going to respond. We lost a heartbreaker last week (a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals). We knew we would respond. The men in that locker room weren’t going to let them lose… Crazy business, man,” Schottenheimer added.
The head coach’s comments did not sit well with fans. Many felt he was celebrating the win without acknowledging the mistakes that nearly cost Dallas another game.
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One fan wrote, “He truly doesn’t realize how bad he is.”
One X user questioned Schottenheimer’s praise for the Colts, writing, “Way to build up the Colts, Schotty. Yeah, they really looked like world beaters out there. It’s comedy at this point… Is he the only one who doesn’t realize we are laughing AT him?”
Some fans also took issue with what they viewed as Schottenheimer’s conservative coaching approach. One commenter asked, “Did anyone ask him why he doesn’t coach to win? He coaches scared.”
Another fan was even more blunt, remarking, “He’s such an insufferable coach. Every time he talks, I lose brain cells.”
The criticism continued, with one user writing, “Schotty, you [expletive] at ur job, my man.” Another added, “Can’t stand this fool anymore.”
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Other fans felt the Cowboys should have beaten the struggling Colts more convincingly.
“This should have been a blowout. Embarrassing,” one user wrote.
Another fan summed up that frustration by posting, “What a way to try to justify barely beating a tanking team.”
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The Cowboys’ victory did little to quiet their critics, especially after they came so close to losing another game.
Dallas finished with 14 penalties for 153 yards, another sign of the team’s ongoing discipline problems. One particularly costly mistake came when a player who wasn’t even in uniform ran onto the field to celebrate a turnover, resulting in a penalty.
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The Cowboys, who rank No. 32 with a PFN Defense Impact Score of 63.1 through Week 9, also struggled to protect their lead for the second consecutive week. After going up 20-10, Dallas allowed Indianapolis to score 13 unanswered points and take a late lead.
Dallas then needed a last-minute drive after getting the ball back with 1:37 remaining to pull out the win.
The defense eventually came through with a crucial interception by rookie Caleb Downs, helping the Cowboys avoid another disappointing loss.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
