McGowan carried the ball four times for 20 yards and caught his only target for five yards in Saturday's 25-16 preseason loss to the Lions.
The seventh-round rookie got the start once again, even with DJ Giddens back in the lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury, and McGowan put together the Colts' longest run of the afternoon on a 10-yard scamper in the first quarter to help set up a field goal. Giddens scored the team's only TD of the game in the second quarter, however, as they both make their final cases to be the No. 2 backfield option behind Jonathan Taylor. The two younger backs had similar athleticism-over-production profiles in college, so they could end up trading the job back and forth during the season based on health and performance.