The Cowboys Report
Cowboys Crush the Eagles to take lead in NFC East
Oct 24, 2019, 7:24 am
The Cowboys Report
The Dallas Cowboys (4-3) smashed the Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) Sunday night by the score of 37-10.The victory sends them into their Week 8 bye week on a positive note and stopped a three game losing streak.
The Cowboys caused an early turnover on the Eagles' first possession that they quickly turned into a 7-point lead and they never looked back.They won the all-important turnover battle 4-1 and held the Eagles to less than 300 yards of offense.
Both of Dallas' starting offensive tackles were back from injury and it showed.The Cowboy offense had their highest scoring game of the year. Quarterback Dak Prescott was 21/27 for 239 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. He also ran the ball 5 times for 30 yards and a touchdown. He connected with six different receivers. All-Pro receiver Amari Cooper returned from injury and led the way with 5 catches for 106 yards.
Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott ran through the 4th best rushing defense all game long. He had 28 touches, 22 carries for 111 yards and 1 touchdown, and caught 6 passes for 36 yards.When the Cowboys feed Zeke the ball more than 20 times a game, a victory tends to come with it.
The Dallas defense was amazing. They held the one dimensional Eagles offense to less than 175 yards passing and only allowed 16 first downs.They recovered three fumbles and sacked Philly quarterback Carson Wentz three times as well. Sadly, they lost their best player, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch to a neck injury towards the end of the 1st half. Hopefully the bye week will allow him to not miss anytime going forward.
Dallas improves to (4-3) and takes over first place in the NFC East. Most importantly, they are now (3-0) against their division opponents.The Cowboys enter their bye week off of a HUGE win and will be on the road taking on their division rival New York Giants on Monday night November 4th.
For you gamblers out there, the over of 49 just missed but hopefully you were able to get the Cowboys at either -2.5 or -3 for an easy win.The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!