THE COWBOYS REPORT
Cowboys head into bye week with 3-4 record after loss to Redskins; add Cooper in trade
Oct 24, 2018, 4:51 pm
The Dallas Cowboys lost another close one on the road, this time to their division rival Washington Redskins by the score of 20-17. They now go into their bye week with a record of 3-4 (All four losses have been road games).
The score doesn’t really tell the story of the game though. Dallas lost the most important battle of every game, the turnover battle (2-0). The Redskins created two fumbles from Dak Prescott, including what was the game winning strip sack that they took back for a touchdown with less the five minutes remaining in the game and gave them a 20-10 lead.
The Cowboys offense had no answer for the Redskin defense when it came to getting the ball to Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott. The NFL’s second leading rusher in the league was held to 33 yards on 15 carries and two catches for 9 yards which is Zeke’s second worst professional game ever.
With the Washington defense locked in on Elliott, head coach Jason Garrett had to find other ways to move the ball. The Cowboys put game in quarterback Dak Prescott’s hands by running multiple play action fake passes and giving him the option to run the ball himself.
Prescott was 22 of 35 for 273 yards and one touchdown which was a beautiful 49 yard pass to rookie receiver Michael Gallup to tie the game at 7 right before halftime. He also ran the ball six times for 33 yards and another touchdown. He was able to spread the ball around and completed passes to seven different receivers. Top free agent acquisition Allen Hurns had his best game of the season with five catches for 74 yards and looks to finally be developing a good rapport with Prescott. The issue was he was sacked four times and turned the ball over twice via fumbles.
The Cowboy defense was solid only giving up 305 yards of total offense and one touchdown early in the first quarter. The teams were even in almost all categories of the game except for the most important one, turnovers.
Dallas did have a chance to tie the game in the last few seconds but ended having to kick a field goal from 52 yards away instead on a 47 yard try due to a snap infraction on the long snapper. Brett Maher’s kick was no good after hitting the left upright. He had made his previous 16 field goal attempts.
The loss leaves Dallas in a tie for second place with the Philadelphia Eagles and two games behind Washington. The Cowboys now have a bye week to reload for the second half of the season that they will start with a Monday night game at home against the Tennessee Titans (3-4) on November 5th.
The big news was the acquisition of former Raiders wide receiver Amari Cooper. The Cowboys gave up a first-round pick in hopes he can step in and help the offense. They now have extra time to work him in.
Coming off their bye week, the Texans host the Dolphins with big playoff implications at stake. A win over Miami paired with a Colts loss secures another playoff berth for Houston.
Injuries will be a factor in this contest, with guard Juice Scruggs (foot) expected to be unavailable and safety Jalen Pitre now out for the year with a pectoral injury.
The Texans will also be without LB Azeez Al-Shaair (suspension), but a glimmer of hope has arrived as LB Christian Harris has returned to practice after missing the entire season up to this point.
Houston #Texans Thursday Injury Report for Week 15 vs. the Miami Dolphins: pic.twitter.com/7cDUTFbFZV
— Houston Texans PR (@TexansPR) December 12, 2024
Left guard Kenyon Green has also returned to practice and could be available this Sunday as well. If he's not, look for Zach Thomas, who was claimed off waivers from the Patriots about a month ago, to step in. Offensive line play and protection in general will be a main area of focus once again, as the Texans are arguably the worst in the NFL in this category.
This is most damning set of stats I've seen regarding the #Texans offense.
From no. 1 to no. 20 - 4.7% gap
From no. 21 to no. 31 - 4.9% gap
From no. 31 to Texans - 4.9% gap
Last in blown blocks by more than 1 BB per game.
Last in QB pressures & 50 more BB+PR than any other team https://t.co/vwAS16Diay
— Adam Wexler (@AdamJWexler) December 11, 2024
As you can see from the graphic above, the Texans have blown a block or allowed a pressure on over 30% of their offensive plays, and the next closest team is the Bears at 25.4 %.
Speaking of blocking, the Texans face three of the best teams against the run down the stretch (Chiefs, Ravens, Titans). With that being the case, let's hope that Stroud and the Texans found some answers in the passing game during the bye week.
If the Texans can keep Stroud upright, perhaps we see a resurgence from Tank Dell, who has seemingly disappeared from the offense. Tank hasn't scored since October 13, and has only recorded one game with over 100 yards all season.
Swarm!
On defense, the Texans will have their hands full with the Dolphins explosive offense. Miami has scored 32 or more points in 3 of their last 4 games.
The Texans are averaging just under 24 PPG this season, so they could really use a breakout game from the offense to help cement a victory.
Houston has the best duo of pass rushers in the league, but they will be challenged against Tua Tagovailoa, who gets rid of the ball extremely quickly and accurately.
Tua also has two speedsters in Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle that can take a short pass to the house at any given moment. Speed could be the difference in this contest, but the Texans do have two corners in Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter that are both Top 3 in lowest catch rate allowed this year.
DBs with the lowest Catch Rate Allowed this season 🔒
1. Kamari Lassiter - 42.0%
2. Nate Wiggins - 43.8%
3. Derek Stingley Jr. - 44.6%
4. Donte Jackson - 49.1%
5. Kristian Fulton - 50.0%
6. Jakorian Bennett - 51.1%
7. Jaylon Johnson - 51.2%
8. Denzel Ward - 51.9%
9. Jaycee Horn… https://t.co/muJHduiHQn pic.twitter.com/nVJlKYsWwc
— The 33rd Team (@The33rdTeamFB) December 11, 2024
What does Vegas think?
The Texans are favored by 3 points and the total is set at 46.5, which is the third-highest this week.
Don't miss the video above as we break down this week's game, the final stretch of the season, and much more!
Also, be sure to watch Texans on Tap with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan live following every Texans game on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel!