Insider: 10 thoughts on the Colts' beatdown loss to the Cowboys

ARLINGTON, Texas - Ten thoughts on the Colts' 54-19 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football to fall to 4-8-1:

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Insider: Colts collapse, hit rock bottom in blowout loss to Cowboys

1. This ended up being a pretty simple Colts game for the most part, at least until the wheels really came off in the fourth quarter. They went on the road against a surging team loaded with playmakers at the spots where the Colts were weakest, such as pass rusher and wide receiver. Indianapolis played a pretty good game for three quarters, forcing some quick stops and generating a pair of long and methodical drives, but back-breaking turnovers unraveled the game and let Dallas go for the knockout blow. This offense just has to work way too hard to generate scores, and living on that edge leads to turnovers if the other team is doing what it wants, which some offenses are just built to do. Five turnovers, 54 points allowed. This was rock bottom in a season that keeps inventing new lows.

2. The Colts decided to pull another surprise by demoting Sam Ehlinger to inactive and re-inserting Nick Foles as the backup. In less than two months, Ehlinger has gone from third string to second string to first string to second to third again. But the movements back down the ladder only happened after the coaching change, which should make one thing very clear: Jeff Saturday has the full trust of team owner Jim Irsay with his most prized possession.

3. The Colts' most impressive drive of the season came on their second possession, when they started at their own 21-yard line, hit two gashing runs to Jonathan Taylor and then took their first shot in seemingly forever on a 45-yard back-shoulder fade route to Alec Pierce to set up Ashton Dulin's score on a busted coverage. It mixed the run-first approach with tempo and a calculated downfield shot that didn't overextend the personnel.

4. Pierce's game is that back-shoulder fade route, where he can get to downfield spots quickly, gain a step of separation and use his 6-foot-3 frame to box out a defender with the sideline creating some free room. The Colts haven't been willing to try it since they re-inserted Ryan, but in talking to Reggie Wayne this week, I sensed they'd do something different to try to get the rookie involved. He's had two zero-catch games in the past month, as he's become the biggest victim of the move to a risk-averse offense. You have to dial up some shots and live with the results with him sometimes, and they did it in this game, including with the 15-yard touchdown pass in 1-on-1 coverage. He needs to get more consistent on contested catches, but he has the body to win against most No. 2 cornerbacks.

5. Ryan's arm has seen better days. He let some balls sail on him in this one, such as the Malik Hooker interception that went high over Pierce's hands. There are too many other moments where he won't take a deeper shot because he doesn't have a perfect pocket, and the Colts have stopped dialing many of them up for that reason. Other times, he winds up throwing late and desperately when preferred routes aren't within his range anymore, leading to more interceptions. The separated shoulder changed something in him, and I felt that immediately in the win over the Raiders when he was surgical but every single completion was within 15 yards of the line of scrimmage. Between age and wear and tear, it's all catching up to him. If he had the 2020 Colts roster around him, like Philip Rivers did, you could find a way to win that way. But it's the furthest thing from that in the area you really need, which is pass protection.

6. Speaking of pass protection: Jonathan Taylor has had a rough season there. He's gone the wrong way on too many attempts and has had half execution on others, and tonight had elements of both. He bit left and allowed Donovan Wilson to rush right through the A-gap for a sack and then whiffed on Anthony Barr on a third down that knocked the Colts out of field goal range. Taylor still looks elusive and electric at times in the open field, as he showcased with 104 total yards in this one. But the details have been lacking for him this year between pass protection and ball security. It's a good example of the margin of error in this game when you aren't your most dialed-in self.

7. The turning point of this game from competitive to beatdown was the near-interception Isaiah Rodgers Sr. had that the referees ruled incomplete. At that point in the game, the Colts were down two points, and they could have taken the field with some juice and stuck to the run-heavy script with Ryan precision passing that was generating one of their more productive days. Instead, the referees ruled an incompletion as well as a personal foul on Zaire Franklin that set the Cowboys up with an easy red-zone drive. Once Dallas turned that into another touchdown, it got the Colts pressing, and the wheels came off with a Mo Alie-Cox fumble that Malik Hooker took to the house. The wheels were always going to come off with a two-score second-half deficit, though, because of the matchup on the edges.

8. If I were Saturday, I might have thrown the challenge flag on Rodgers Sr.'s near interception. It would have been hard to overturn, but it was such a critical moment given how challenged the Colts defense had been to stop all these skill players in the red zone, and with how his own offense was not built to drop back in obvious passing situations to lead a two-score comeback on the road. Officials come back with some surprising calls off reviews sometimes, so it would have been a calculated risk.

9. The Colts decided to rotate Dennis Kelly and Matt Pryor at right tackle in the absence of Braden Smith, and it's hard to figure out. In theory, Kelly is the more able pass protector and Pryor perhaps a better run blocker, but that's messing with any chance of continuity up front for a team that wants to live and build through the run game. When you have two tackles, you really have zero tackles, and that's where the Colts have been all season on the left side. This week, they were there on the right side as well.

10. Michael Pittman Jr. had two targets until the fourth quarter, with one catch for 11 yards, and that's just not an acceptable approach given the offensive limitations of this team. He has a strong connection with Ryan, whose ball placement on short throws feeds into his frame and body positioning. Sure, he's gaining the attention of defensive coordinators, but good play designers still find a way to generate a few touches on end-arounds, screen plays, in-breaking routes across the defense or motion to reveal the coverage and then force feed the ball on occasion. This Colts offense is just so far from creative at the moment that it's not surprising to see a well-coached opponent take away one of their few good options.

Contact Colts insider Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts vs Cowboys: 10 thoughts from IndyStar's Nate Atkins