Cowboys Sideline Pickens and Porter Jr. Against Colts Amid Trade Buzz

WHO:

colts.com - Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner said, “That's unacceptable,” and added, “I gotta be better. I gotta make the play, no matter what plays I made before that.”

colts.com - Colts wide receiver Josh Downs said, “I stunk today,” and said he was not distracted by trade rumors.

colts.com - Colts running back Jonathan Taylor said, “I gotta make sure if it touches my body, if it touches my hands, I gotta try to clamp down on it immediately.”

colts.com - Colts head coach Shane Steichen said of trade rumors, “Maybe it affects some guys more than others.”

Sportskeeda - The Dallas Cowboys and wide receiver George Pickens were involved in the team’s lineup decision ahead of its game against the Indianapolis Colts.

NBC Sports - The Cowboys will be without wide receiver George Pickens and cornerback Joey Porter Jr. against the Colts.

NBC Sports - Other Cowboys receivers available are CeeDee Lamb, Ryan Flournoy, Jonathan Mingo, Camden Brown, and Jordan Hudson; KaVontae Turpin will also be out.

NBC Sports - Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown and tight end Luke Schoonmaker will be inactive.

dallascowboys.com - The Cowboys will be without Pickens, Porter Jr., and Overshown, requiring other players to step up.

WHAT:

dallascowboys.com - Dallas described its 2026 season as a “roller coaster ride” through its first eight games.

colts.com - Dallas defeated Indianapolis 27–23, handing the Colts their fifth consecutive loss.

colts.com - With under 90 seconds left and Indianapolis leading by three, Dak Prescott connected with Ryan Flournoy for a 46-yard gain; Dallas scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:10 left.

colts.com - Sauce Gardner had allowed two receptions on four targets for 11 yards, per Pro Football Focus, before Flournoy’s late catch.

colts.com - Josh Downs recorded three catches on six targets for 24 yards and dropped two passes, including one on third-and-eight.

colts.com - Jonathan Taylor lost a fumble after Quinnen Williams knocked the ball out near the Cowboys’ 18-yard line.

colts.com - Indianapolis faced Tuesday's 4 p.m. trade deadline; Steichen said the team would move forward once it passed.

Sportskeeda - Pickens will not play in the Cowboys’ Week 9 game against the Colts.

NBC Sports - Pickens was listed as questionable, and this is the first game he has missed this season.

NBC Sports - Porter Jr. will miss his second game since joining the Cowboys in a trade with the Steelers.

dallascowboys.com - Dallas entered the Colts game with a 3–5 record and had not won two consecutive games during its first eight games of the season.

WHERE:

dallascowboys.com - The Cowboys’ game against the Colts was at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Sportskeeda - The game is against the Indianapolis Colts.

dallascowboys.com - The Cowboys were in Indianapolis.

WHEN:

Sportskeeda - Pickens was ruled out for the Cowboys’ Week 9 game against the Colts.

NBC Sports - Porter Jr. was limited in practice on Thursday and Friday.

dallascowboys.com - The Cowboys’ 3–5 record covered their first eight games of the season.

WHY:

NBC Sports - The Cowboys were trying to rebound from their latest loss.

NBC Sports - Pickens was questionable because a hamstring injury limited him in practice all week.

NBC Sports - Porter Jr. was limited in practice because of an ankle injury.

NBC Sports - Overshown was inactive with hamstring and back issues; Schoonmaker was inactive with a groin injury.

dallascowboys.com - The team said a victory over Indianapolis would help improve its season, with the NFC East still wide open and half the season remaining.

HOW:

colts.com - Sauce Gardner said he tried to play through Ryan Flournoy’s hands rather than turn his head toward Dak Prescott’s pass; Gardner said, “That negates everything that happened before that play.”

colts.com - Josh Downs’s third-and-eight drop came with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter, before a go-ahead Spencer Shrader field goal.

colts.com - Colts head coach Shane Steichen said of Downs’s late-game situation, “We were trying to win the game there.”

colts.com - Colts players said trade speculation was not an excuse for the loss; Jonathan Taylor said, “The hay’s in the barn,” and that the team would “play the waiting game.”

colts.com - Earlier in the fourth quarter, Gardner broke up a pass and tackled CeeDee Lamb for a short gain on consecutive plays, forcing a punt before Indianapolis answered with a game-tying field goal.

colts.com - After a Lamb fumble, a 40-yard pass-interference penalty drawn by Deion Burks and a 15-yard unnecessary-roughness penalty on Dallas, Indianapolis had first-and-10 at the Cowboys’ 18-yard line before Taylor fumbled.

dallascowboys.com - The Cowboys’ website said it would track highlights from the game.

NBC Sports - Overshown had missed five games with a hamstring issue before returning for the previous two games.

Dallas rallied past Indianapolis, 27 to 23, handing the Colts their fifth straight loss. Dak Prescott’s late connection with Ryan Flournoy set up Dallas’s winning touchdown. Colts players acknowledged costly mistakes, while trade rumors loomed ahead of the deadline.