NFL
By: Greg Rector
Houston Texans (1-10-1) vs Dallas Cowboys (9-3)
AT&T Stadium 1:00 PM EST
FOX
Dallas Cowboys fans and many of the Cowboy’s hate brigade witnessed a franchise-record 33 4th quarter points racked up by the Cowboys as they steamrolled the Colts 54-19 Sunday night. The Houston Texans were losers yet again to the Cleveland Browns and former Texans QB Deshaun Watson in his first game in a couple of years 27 to 14. That was the 7th straight loss for Houston.
Texans Offense vs Cowboys Defense
Outside of rookie running back Dameon Pierce, there’s been almost nothing to cheer for from the Houston offense all season long. Whether Davis Mills or Kyle Allen plays under center it really hasn’t mattered. The Texans’ offense simply put is awful. As Dak Prescott said in his post-game press conference after the Colts game, “We get up a couple of points,” Dak Prescott said, “and let those (defensive) guys hunt, create turnovers … and we’re a dangerous team when that happens.” Those defensive guys from the Cowboys did go hunting and will do so again on Sunday. Here’s the difference from so many years past for the Dallas Cowboys, it’s been a true “next man up,” approach, whether it was losing Jourdan Lewis or the loss of Anthony Brown (Achilles) likely for the season against the Colts, Daron Bland (2 interceptions), simply has stepped up and Kelvin Joseph did his best to do so after Brown’s injury. The same has been true of rookie linebacker Damone Clark who stepped up when veteran Anthony Barr was unavailable. For too many years that mentality has been AWOL in Dallas. Prescott went on to say after the game “This group is resilient,” and they have been. Overcoming another slow start, once they got going it was scary to watch them create 5 turnovers, get three more sacks, and basically dominate. I said it after the past two drafts the Cowboys have drafted players with a different mentality. They are never satisfied and demand better of themselves. They are also well aware of the franchise’s history of no playoff success since the Super Bowl win in 1996. I do believe that with Brown being injured either Nahshon Wright or even Israel Mukuamu will be tasked with keeping the next-man-up approach going in the secondary. Outside of one 19-yard carry by Jonathan Taylor, the Cowboys were very good against the run as well. Taylor managed just 3.9 yards per carry. You can bet the focus against the Texans will be to limit Pierce the Texans’ lone bright spot and as they did against the Colts be in full attack mode. The attack mode mentality will mean another long day ahead for the Texans’ offense.
Dallas Offense vs Texans Defense
29 carries 168 yards and three touchdowns from the Cowboys running back duo of Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott against Indianapolis. Malik Davis in a mop-up role even scored his first career touchdown. Simply put the Cowboys’ ground game has been unstoppable even in the loss to the Packers, the pair have been having their way against opposing defenses. The key to the success has been the vastly improved work from the offensive line. The Cowboys don’t need to focus on just running behind Zach Martin and Terence Steele on the right side. On the left side be it Tyler Smith with Conor McGovern, or when Jason Peters takes snaps at left tackle it hasn’t mattered the line is blowing up holes for both backs. Additionally, the offense has used 4 tight ends with Sean Mckeon joining Schultz, Ferguson, and Hendershot and all of them have done a good job in run blocking. CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Noah Brown all made plays when called upon against the Colts. Lamb is truly on a roll and is at that higher level of being a true WR1. Seeing Michael Gallup play as well as he did Sunday night is huge for the Cowboys and Dak Prescott especially. He has always trusted Gallup, especially in the red zone. The equally as bad as their offense is, the Texan’s defense will be hard-pressed to stop this offense. The other factor for the Cowboys was a season-low 3 penalties after having a record 13 penalties against the Giants.
Prediction
One team is full let’s get Bryce Young mode, the other is doing its best to have itself in a position to win playoff games. I have no idea what the line will be for this game for the betting crowd but I will guess it will be the biggest spread of the week for the second week in a row. The Texans are simply not capable of hanging with the Cowboys. I expect another 40 points or more for the Cowboys and a final of 45-10 will not surprise me at all, nor will it surprise most football fans.
Odell Beckham
Beckham will make his visit to the Cowboys today and we shall see what happens. As Dak said even though the receivers are playing well getting even more weapons not just for this playoff push but next year as well is important.
As always you can find me on Twitter @GregCowboys
