Dallas Cowboys vs Houston Texans: Dallas blown out again 34-10 for 5th straight loss
Well, that wasn’t fun. The Dallas Cowboys took another big home loss, this time on Monday Night Football in a 34-10 rout from the Houston Texans. But while the outcome wasn’t that surprising, Dallas limps out of it with even more injuries and no relief in sight.
Texans RB Joe Mixon dominated the game with 153 total yards and three touchdowns. To his credit, especially after last week, Cooper Rush had 354 passing yards as Dallas abandoned the run early. But with only one touchdown on the night, the volume was mostly empty as the Cowboys couldn’t finish drives and committed two turnovers.
Now Dallas has a short week to get ready for a road game against the Washington Commanders. With injuries to over half the offensive line and a concussion to TE Jake Ferguson coming out of tonight, the Cowboys may not have much left to fight with for the rivalry game.
1st Quarter
Houston started with the ball and it felt like they’d set a dominant tone right away. The first play was a 77-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins that got called back on a penalty. But the Texans kept rolling and eventually scored on a 45-yard run by Joe Mixon.
The Cowboys gained just 19 yards on their first possession and then attempted another poorly executed fake punt. Bryan Anger lofted the ball to Juanyeh Thomas behind the 1st-down marker and the Texans stopped him, getting the ball back in excellent field position. But a bad throw by C.J. Stroud fell in the lap of Malik Hooker, giving Dallas some life.
Dallas hot-potatoed the momentum right back to Houston on the next drive. After a couple of positive plays from Jake Ferguson and CeeDee Lamb, Cooper Rush hit Texans’ CB Derek Stingley Jr. for the interception.
The Texans marched again, including a 4th-down conversion in the redzone, before capping the drive with another Mixon touchdown.
2nd Quarter
The next quarter opened with bad news; TE Jake Ferguson was ruled out of the game with a concussion from the previous drive. But the offense found something to feel good about when Rush hit KaVontae Turpin out of the slot for a 64-yard touchdown!
After a muffed kickoff return that put them on their own 8-yard-line, the Texans went 77 yards thanks largely to a 37-yard pass to Mixon. The drive stalled out in the redzone, but Houston did come away with three points off a short field goal.
Dallas got well within Brandon Aubrey’s range on their next possession, setting up the answer with his 53-yard field goal. As it turns out, it gave Aubrey another line in the history books.
Brandon Aubrey made his 20th career field goal of 50-or-more yards and also became the first kicker in NFL history to make 10 field goals from 50-plus yards in consecutive seasons.
— Dallas Cowboys Public Relations (@DallasCowboysPR) November 19, 2024
The Cowboys’ defense stepped up on the next drive, holding Houston to 19 yards and forcing a punt. It gave the offense time to get down into scoring position and another field goal attempt. But Aubrey’s plant foot slipped and caused a miss from 40 yards out, his first miss at home since joining Dallas.
Houston went three-and-out on their next possession, punting the ball with just 37 seconds left on the clock. The Cowboys took some shots down the field but didn’t get far, and ultimately headed into the locker room with a 17-10 deficit.
3rd Quarter
Dallas got the ball after halftime but didn’t do much with it, gaining five yards before punting. Houston had another long drive but was again kept out of the endzone, settling for another Kai Fairbairn field goal to extend their lead to 10 points.
The Cowboys marched to midfield on the next possession but wound up in 2nd-and-20 after Lamb had to play defense to prevent an interception. They’d eventually let Aubrey attempt one from 64 yards, and the NFL’s best kicker reminded everyone who he is.
The big make was erased when Dallas accepted a personal foul penalty against Houston, restarting the drive from the Texans’ 31. They advanced to the 8-yard line but failed to come away with points, eventually turning the ball over on downs.
4th Quarter
Things went from bad to worse in the final quarter. Houston’s offense was held to another punt, but then the Cowboys shot themselves in both feet. Cooper Rush was sacked by Derek Barnett and fumbled, which OT Tyler Guyton grabbed and tried to run with. He was quickly swarmed and had the ball knocked out again, and Barnett finished the play with a recovery and touchdown.
That was about it for meaningful moments in this game. The teams traded punts, Dallas turned it over on downs, and the Texans took advantage of a short field with Mixon’s third touchdown of the night.
The beat-up Cowboys suffered more injuries in garbage time. Tyler Guyton left the game with a shoulder injury after that failed fumble recovery, and then both Zack Martin and Tyler Smith went down on a later drive.
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The Cowboys are going deep into the bench tonight with wide receiver Ryan Flournoy getting his first start. Recently traded-for Jonathan Mingo is also expected to play, indicating lesser roles potentially for Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin (with Jalen Brooks inactive) as Dallas tries to shake up its stagnant offense.
Injury Updates
CB DaRon Bland will not play tonight as the All-Pro continues recovering from a preseason foot injury. Dallas is likely playing it safe with Bland given the state of their season. Jourdan Lewis will also be out with a neck issue, leaving the Cowboys very thin at cornerback.
FB Hunter Luepke is also inactive with a reportedly minor calf injury.
NFL News Relevant To The Cowboys
The Giants have benched QB Daniel Jones, looking to avoid any injury that could trigger clauses in his contract. Dallas will likely see Tommy DeVito in the Thanksgiving game.
Rookie RB Jonathon Brooks, who many Cowboys fans pined for in the 2024 Draft, is expected to finally make his debut for the Panthers this Sunday. Brooks has been rehabbing from an ACL surgery last year which hurt his draft stock, but was generally considered the best prospect in the class.
Up Next For The Cowboys
Dallas finally has its first 2024 meeting with the Commanders. Washington isn’t riding as high after two losses and losing NFC East control to the Eagles, but they’re still in a much better place right now than the Cowboys. Hosting their struggling rivals should be good medicine for the Commanders and more misery for America’s Team.