Colts vs. Cowboys 2017: Time, TV channel, and how to watch online

The Colts head into their second preseason game with Andrew Luck’s status still up in the air.

Aug 19, 2017, 9:30 PM UTC

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts are both coming off losses in Week 1 of the preseason, and both teams face questions at a major skill position heading into the regular season. They’ll face each other on Saturday evening at AT&T Stadium.

This is one of the national games on a busy Saturday slate. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET, and it will be televised on NFL Network and streaming online at Watch NFL Network.

The Colts have been vague about Andrew Luck’s status all August, and we still don’t know when he’ll be ready to play. Luck underwent surgery on his throwing shoulder in the offseason and has yet to participate in training camp. When pressed on the subject, Colts owner Jim Irsay said that Luck will be ready “around the start of the season,” but the team isn’t sure if he’ll play in Week 1.

Either way, the Colts should be prepared for the worst and have a backup quarterback ready, which could be a big problem. Scott Tolzien was pretty dreadful in the preseason opener, completing just 2 of 5 passes for 24 yards. Stephen Morris and Phillip Walker weren’t much better as the Colts dropped a 24-10 loss to the Detroit Lions. Not helping matters is the absence of starting center Ryan Kelly, who will likely be out for the first half of the season after undergoing foot surgery.

The Cowboys, for their part, don’t have too many serious injury worries, but they’re still expected to be without star running back Ezekiel Elliott, who was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s domestic violence policy. Elliott has appealed the decision in what could be an ugly legal battle, with the league office and NFLPA trading barbs on Twitter earlier in the week.

In the meantime, Dallas has Darren McFadden, Alfred Morris, and Rod Smith, who should all get a chance to step up and win the starting job while Elliott is sidelined. McFadden played with the first team in last week’s 13-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, carrying the ball six times for 28 yards. Morris had five carries for 11 yards, while Smith was a distant third on the depth chart with just one carry for 2 yards.

Besides Elliott, one of the big stories in the Cowboys’ preseason has been the development of tight end Rico Gathers. A basketball player at Baylor, Gathers is making some eye-opening plays this month and scored another touchdown in last week’s game, finishing with four catches on six targets for 47 yards. The Cowboys are set at starting tight end with the ageless veteran Jason Witten, but Gathers could well play himself onto the final 53-man roster.

Another name to watch is Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith. A highly touted prospect out of Notre Dame, Smith was a potential top-five draft pick before he suffered a devastating knee injury in his team’s bowl game. The Cowboys took him in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, but he missed his entire rookie year recovering. Now Smith is healthy enough to see some football action, and he’s set to make his debut in this game. If Smith plays up to his potential, he’ll be a big upgrade to a defense that was average at best last season.