(My Sportsbook) - The Dallas Cowboys, a week removed from their bye, will travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts in a Week 10 affair on Sunday at the RCA Dome.

The Cowboys have lost their last three games by a total of eight points. The primary reason for their skid has been the play of the offense. Dallas has scored just 27 points during the three-game slide, and while the defense has played well, the offense has sputtered leaving the Cowboys searching for answers.

"As a collective unit, we need a major overhaul," offensive coordinator Bruce Coslet said. "We're trying the best we can. It's not good enough right now. I recognize that and I've been around a few years and I understand you can't win scoring 12 points a game or whatever we're averaging.

"Even if everything went just perfect this year, no injuries, everything up to speed, it would have taken up to this long in the year to start learning this offense. I would be, watching this as an outsider, frustrated, too. It's not the Cowboys of old."

The Colts' offense was having trouble moving the football before last week, but a trip to Philadelphia proved to be the perfect remedy. Indy defeated the Eagles 35-13, as QB Peyton Manning completed 18-of-23 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Colts surprisingly dominated a team that is considered to have one of the best defenses in football. Manning was aided by rookie RB James Mungro, who rushed for 114 yards and two touchdowns in his first NFL start.

"We thought he would have a chance to have a good day," Colts head coach Tony Dungy said of the Syracuse product. "Against [Philadelphia's] defense, you can't be a timid runner. You've got to run hard, you have to take what's there and go hard and that's his style. That was huge for James, starting his first game with the pressure of having to deliver."

During halftime of this week's game, the Colts will induct Ted Marchibroda, who served as the team's head coach from 1975-79 and then 1992-95, into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor. Marchibroda, who will join late owner Robert Irsay, wide receiver Bill Brooks and tackle Chris Hinton as enshrinees in the team's Ring of Honor, posted a career record of 73-71 during his career with the Colts.

SERIES HISTORY: The Cowboys hold a 7-4 advantage in the series but the Colts have won the past two meetings, including a 34-24 victory in October 1999.

This will be Dave Campo's first meeting with the Colts, while Dungy is perfect in two affairs versus Dallas.

COWBOYS OFFENSE

The Cowboys' offensive line has been struggling all season, and that trend should continue this week. The unit has been battling injuries all year long, and things got worse instead of better during the bye week.

All-Pro offensive lineman Larry Allen, who is listed as questionable this week, is going to see how he feels before playing in Indianapolis. If his injured ankle, which he sprained during the Cowboys' second game of the season, isn't healing he will likely have surgery, which would end his season.

"We want him to go hard," Campo said of Allen. "He needs to turn it loose and I think he will. Our guys need to see what he can do and how hard he can go. We're hoping he can play and continue to improve. I think if he doesn't [play] we'll have to do something and make a decision about the rest of the season. We can't keep going like this."

Allen is just one of several Dallas linemen who is suffering from injuries. Guard Javiar Collins is still battling the effects of a sprained knee, so he won't be available to play this week, while fellow guard Matt Lehr is expected to play but he is still hobbled by a sprained knee. Also, Jeremy McKinney, who has started the last two games at left guard, has been placed on the injured reserve after he underwent an angioplasty to counter a blockage of an artery.

In fact, the only position on the offensive line that has had any sort of stability has been left tackle, as Flozell Adams is the team's only offensive lineman to start every game at the same position this season.

The flux on the offensive line, coupled by the growing pains of quarterbacks Chad Hutchinson and Quincy Carter, has meant low-scoring affairs for the Cowboys' offense.

The Cowboys are dead last in the NFL in points scored, averaging just 12.8 per contest. Their biggest weakness has been their inability to throw the football, as they are averaging just 179.7 passing yards per game while surrendering 27 sacks on the year.

Dallas' running game should see a change this week. Emmitt Smith, the NFL's all-time rushing leader, is usually the Cowboys' feature back. He averages 16 carries per contest, but now that the season is a wash, Campo is hoping to get Troy Hambrick more involved. Hambrick has rushed for just 146 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries this season but it seems like he will become a bigger part of the offense beginning this week.

"We've got to figure out what he brings to us," Campo said when asked about Hambrick. "He's shown us spurts where he's very good and we need to see more of what he can do."

The Smith-Hambrick tandem will need to produce to take some pressure off the team's rookie signal-caller. Hutchinson, who has started the past two games for the Cowboys, has shown that he isn't ready to win a game by himself, and going against Indianapolis' Cover-2 scheme could be very confusing for the young passer.

COLTS DEFENSE

The Colts' defense was terrible in the early stages of the year, but a pair of solid games has given the players some confidence. Two weeks ago, they limited the Titans to just 198 total yards -- the lowest allowed by a Colts team since Week 15 in 1997 against Miami. Last week against Philadelphia, the Colts allowed Donovan McNabb to throw for 281 yards, but many of the yards came after the game was already decided.

"Each week we're getting better," said veteran defensive end Chad Bratzke. "I think it's a combination of a lot of different things. No. 1, we had some growing pains with the system early. We're more on the same page now. We understand it more. We trust each other more. It's been a building process."

"The big thing is there wasn't a lot we did differently," Dungy said. "There wasn't a magic potion or a magic formula. We just played the way we should play. Hopefully, our guys will develop that confidence that we just have to continue to play well."

Last week, the biggest bright spot for the Colts was the play of their first- round draft choice, defensive end Dwight Freeney. In his first full game, Freeney recorded a sack, a tackle for a loss and also forced three fumbles.

"I just wanted to go out there and play ball every down and show everybody I'm not just this third-down guy," said Freeney, who was previously playing as a third-down pass rusher.

"He played with a lot of energy," Dungy said of Freeney. "His quickness coming off the corner and beating people to the punch is something that he always has. But he had some opportunities to do it."

Despite their tremendous efforts a week ago, the Colts' defense still isn't that good statistically. The unit allows 139.8 rushing yards per game, which ranks 31st in the NFL. The pass rush hasn't been a factor, as it has registered just 15 sacks so far.

COLTS OFFENSE

The Colts need a dependable running game in order to move the ball, and last week Mungro's effort was more than adequate. In his first career start, Mungro did a great job at keeping Philadelphia's defense from keying on the pass. In fact, the Colts' greatest success in the passing game came off of play-action passes.

The threat of the running game allowed Manning to pick apart Philadelphia's defense. The potent ground attack allowed Manning to complete passes to seven different receivers and get his two starting wideouts involved quite a bit. Marvin Harrison grabbed six passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 596 career receptions. He now has more catches than any other player in their first seven seasons in the NFL. Reggie Wayne also contributed, catching six balls for 121 yards and a TD.

The Colts could be without Qadry Ismail this week, as the veteran receiver sprained the medial collateral ligament in his knee a week ago, and he is listed as questionable for the Dallas game.

This week, Mungro will most likely make his second consecutive start, as RBs Edgerrin James and Ricky Williams are still nursing hamstring injuries. James is also suffering from rib cartilage damage, and Dungy said that is a bigger problem than the hamstring injury. If the Colts are forced to use Mungro again, they will hope he can perform at the same level he did a week ago.

"When you are running the ball, most defensive coordinators will probably tell you that's their first concern -- 'Stop the run, stop the run,'" said Manning. "If I was playing us, I wouldn't have been worried about the run game. If you're playing smart, you play to stop the passing game and stop our receivers."

Philadelphia couldn't stop Indy's running or passing game, and a lot of that had to do with the play of the offense line, which held the Eagles without a sack for the first time in 45 games.

The offensive line must play well again this week. Like the Eagles, Dallas likes to blitz, and the Colts, who have surrendered just 17 sacks all season will need to keep Manning on his feet so he can go to work. Manning needs protection. When the signal-caller is under pressure, he tends to force throws and the result is increased interceptions. In fact, Manning has been picked off 11 times thus far.

COWBOYS DEFENSE

Despite their poor record, the Cowboys have played very well defensively. Dallas' defense has allowed just 15 touchdowns in nine games, and five of those were scored in a blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Cowboys' defense has also shown a lot of improvement as of late. After four games, Dallas ranked 22nd in total defense. But since then, the 'Boys have played much better and they now rank seventh in the league after allowing just 148 yards to Detroit prior to their bye.

"I think we're playing well together and on the same page," Cowboys safety Darren Woodson said. "We know we've got some players over here and that we'd have a pretty good defense. But we're not winning games, for whatever reason. And for that, we've got to step it up more. That's all there is to it."

"We are a team out here and that's what it's all about," defensive tackle Brandon Noble. "We need the offense and they need us and we both need the special teams. We can't worry about what's going on with the offense. It's not under our control and really, there's nothing we can do, but go out and try to play the best we can play."

This week, the Cowboys' primary goal will be to put pressure on Manning. Manning is at his best when he has time to throw, so expect the Cowboys, who have recorded 18 sacks on the year, to bring the blitz early and often. When they don't blitz, watch for defensive tackle La'Roi Glover and defensive end Greg Ellis, who have 11 sacks between them, to apply some pressure on Manning.

While the Cowboys have done a very good job at keeping opponents off the scoreboard (17.2 points per game, fifth in the NFL), they have been prone to allowing points at the end of games. In the last five contests, the Cowboys have let the Giants, Cardinals, Seahawks and Lions drive for game-winning points in the final period.

"If we gave up a score early in the game and held the other team late, we wouldn't be hearing about how the defense can't come with a stop at crunch time or breaks down late," defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer said. "We've held three teams to 10 points or less and lost two of those games. That's pretty tough duty on defense."