Dallas Cowboys Barely Survive The Houston Texans 27-23
Still, in today’s NFL, a win is a win. Head coach Mike McCarthy preached it all week heading into this Lone Star showdown, don’t overlook the one-win Houston Texans. But while the Dallas Cowboys were able to come away with a 27-23 victory, they by no means dominated an opponent against whom they were favored by 17 points.
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Cowboys Diggs
Cowboys Struggled With Consistency
The Cowboys should of been better prepared heading into this Lone Star matchup with the Houston Texans. The entire offense struggled from the start of the game. Dak Prescott in particular struggled through the first three quarters, as he finished the day with 284 passing yards but had one touchdown throw and two interceptions with at least a couple of other pass attempts nearly picked off. He finished with only a 70.9 passer rating, his lowest since returning from injury.
Defensively, the Cowboys defense did not have an answer for Texans Rookie running back Dameon Pierce who carved them up early and often.
The headline concern is on right tackle Terence Steele, who was escorted to the locker room as the second quarter neared its end with what has been deemed a knee injury. Upon further review, it appears his knee was rolled up on by another lineman. As of result just reported that Terence Steele has torn his ACL and is out for the remainder of the season.
In Steele’s absence, the Cowboys deployed nine-time Pro Bowl left-tackle Jason Peters in the waning moments of the game, replacing a struggling Josh Ball, on the eventual game-winning drive by Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott. But the decision to put Jason Peters in at right tackle for Josh Ball proved to be a good one. One will have to go back and watch the film again, but could be wrong but did see No. 71 throwing around some defenders. Also, believe did not see anyone in Dak’s face on that final drive, and the Cowboys offense just carved up the Texans like a surgeon.
As much as you’ll read about the 98-yard game-winning drive, it doesn’t happen at all without the defensive effort in the final four minutes with their backs against the proverbial wall.
For a second, it appeared the Texans had actually scored the clinching touchdown with 4:50 to play. But this receiver named Chris Moore, who torched the Cowboys for 10 catches and 124 yards, just couldn’t quite get to 125. Had he got an extra yard, he scores and the Texans go up by 10. But the referees ruled him down at the 1-yard line, and the Texans went back to the ground attack with two chances to put this game away.
That was an amazing drive by the Cowboys, but fitting to the entire day, you just knew it wasn’t going to be over like that. Not today. The Cowboys had to make an interception in the end zone to stop a Hail Mary and secure the win.
The Cowboys worked the clock to perfection, forcing Houston to use all of its timeouts before the third-down run that looked like it was a case of Hey, Zeke, take this ball, run it as hard as you can and don’t let anyone think about stopping you. Dalton Schultz found every hole in the defense and Dak also made some plays with his legs. His pass to Noah Brown was a beauty, but Brown’s diving catch was better.
Wow, that was exhausting just to write and the game is about two hours old at this point. The Cowboys found a way, both on offense and defense. In the end, the Cowboys found a way to win the game. And that’s…”The Lex Of It“