The Cowboys Report

Cowboys burned by Jets; Eagles up next

Roger Rivero
Oct 17, 2019, 5:13 am
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The Dallas Cowboys lost a close game on Sunday when they were defeated 24-22 by the New York Jets.The Dallas defense wasn't prepared for the return of the Jets' starting quarterback Sam Darnold who boosted the New York offense.

Recap

The Cowboys dominated every aspect of the game except for the scoreboard. They out gained the Jets, had no turnovers, and their time of possession was 32:03 minutes.Their problem was that they were unable to score touchdowns in the first half and had to settle for field goals.

Quarterback Dak Prescott was 28/40 for 277 yards, Zero touchdowns, and NO turnovers.He also carried the ball three times for 11 yards and scored a touchdown late in the game. This wasn't a bad outing for Dak considering he was playing without his two starting tackles La'el Collins and Tyron Smith. Prescott also lost his No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper early in the game with a quad injury.

With the team missing some key players, Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott was asked to carry the team. He carried the ball 28 times for 105 yards, 1 touchdown, and caught 5 passes for 47 yards. Usually when Zeke gets more than 20 touches the Cowboys come out victorious, but a missed 32-yard field goal and a turnover on downs at the Jets 6 yard line were the difference makers.

Dallas now falls to (3-3) but is still tied with the Philadelphia Eagles (3-3) for first in the NFC East.

3 Things to Watch For

1.Ezekiel Elliott (Running Back): The Cowboys need to continue to keep getting Zeke the ball, but this week they might have to get creative as the Eagles have 4th best rushing defense. I would look to see if they call some screen and swing passes for him.

2.Michael Gallup (Wide Receiver): With the health of Cooper up in the air, Gallup is in line to step up and lead the way for the pass catchers.The Eagles are the 4th worst pass defense in the league and I expect Gallup to have a career day.

3.Dallas Defense (All): The Dallas defense should have a nice matchup this week.The Eagles are pretty one-dimensional, they are a passing team and don't have a workhorse running back.I would expect the defensive backfield to not allow big plays to the Philly receivers.

Coming Up

Sunday night Oct. 20, the Dallas Cowboys (3-3) will be taking on the Philadelphia Eagles (3-3) at home in AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:20 pm Central time.The winner of this game will be alone in first place of the NFC East.I expect both teams to score in the 20's but I think Dak will have a big day that will put Dallas on the winning side.

If you have any fantasy players, the only must start players are:

Cowboys: Ezekiel Elliott (RB), Amari Cooper (WR), Dak Prescott (QB), Michael Gallup (WR)

Eagles: Carson Wentz (QB), Zach Ertz (TE), Alshon Jeffrey (WR)

For you gamblers out there, the Cowboys are currently -3 and the over/under is 49. I would only take Dallas at -3 but would really like it a -2.5 but I think the over is the best play again.The over has hit the last two weeks in a row.

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Plenty of bad but recently some great on the short week game for Texans

Throwback Thursdays: Texans history is so so in Thursday games

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This is a list and a few thoughts from the five Thursday Night Football games where Bill O'Brien has been the head coach for the Texans.

2014: The almost comeback for the ages - Texans lose 33-28

This game sucked early, but then almost sucked a lot less. It still sucked in the end but it had one of J.J. Watt's best plays of his career.

The Colts jumped out to an early lead thanks to a Pat McAfee onside kick and a huge T.Y. Hilton play from Andrew Luck. It was one of the signature Hilton games in his time against the Texans. The Colts would lead 24-0 at the end of the first quarter. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Arian Foster along with some stellar defense would get the Texans back in the game but it wasn't enough.

This was the first Thursday game under Bill O'Brien and would be right in the middle of a three game losing streak coming off a bad overtime loss to the Cowboys and ahead of a Monday disaster against the Steelers.

2015: Sick Hasselbeck makes Texans fans sicker - Texans lose 27-20

I always describe this game as the one where Matt Hasselbeck was crapping his pants on the sidelines and still beat the Texans. I am not too wrong about this. He was so sick he didn't practice and yet still had enough for the Colts to beat the Texans. He was also 40 years old too by the way.

This one hurt as it was Andre Johnson's return to Houston but he was wearing a Colts uniform. He scored the opening touchdown and it was pretty much the only good game he had for the Colts that season. He also scored what would be the deciding touchdown in this one.

It also marked one of the quarterback indecision moments of Bill O'Brien's tenure. Ryan Mallett took a big hit and asked out of the game and Brian Hoyer returned to the game and played pretty well. He completed a long pass as time expired to Jaelen Strong (remember that name!?) to get the Texans their first touchdown. Trialing by seven Hoyer threw an interception in Colts territory ending the Texans comeback attempt.

2016: Brissett blows out Brock - Texans lose 27-0

This is one of the worst losses of the Bill O'Brien era. The Patriots were down to their third-string quarterback in the midst of a Tom Brady suspension and Jimmy Garoppolo's injury. Enter Jacoby Brissett and the best coach of all-time to torture Brock Osweiler and the Texans. Oh, by the way, Gronk was hurt too I think.

A field goal by New England put the first points on the board and the Texans fumbled the ensuing kickoff which then moments later saw Brissett take a rush 27 yards to the house. The Texans wouldn't get on the Patriots side of the field until there was a couple of minutes left in the third quarter and they were down 20-0.

We should have all known Osweiler stunk when he couldn't score in this game, but it took me a few more weeks before I really jumped off the Brock train.

2017: The first one for the chosen one - Texans win 13-9

Tom Savage was benched and Deshaun Watson's era began. A short week after sitting behind Savage in training camp and then getting thrown to the Jaguars defense in the second half of week one didn't matter to Watson. It was the start of his coming out party.

The defense kicked ass in this game helping Watson get the first win. The big run above was the moment many of us will never forget when it comes to this Thursday night affair.

2018: Welcome Back Brock - Texans win 42-23

Ah yes, the Brock Osweiler revenge game! The Texans had won four straight after a dreadful start to the season and were coming off a physical game with Jacksonville. This was Brock Osweiler's chance for revenge on the team that jettisoned him after the 2016 season.

There would be little revenge. Credit the Dolphins, they kept the game fairly close until Deshaun Watson started cooking in the second half. Four touchdowns in the second half was quite the efficient showing on just 10 pass attempts.

It was a fun Thursday night contest especially given the Texans history on the short week under O'Brien.

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