There is officially a five-game losing streak in Dallas, as the Cowboys Week 11 matchup with the Houston Texans ends in a 34-10 defeat.
It’s hard to say we didn’t see this loss coming, but the fashion in which it came was certainly an interesting one.
This game had it all; high moments from both Houston and Dallas, some ridiculously low moments, especially for the Cowboys, and an overall vibe that did not meet the moment of a prime-time game.
The Cowboys battled at times, but they were overpowered throughout, as the offense once again failed to put together drives.
Dallas just did not have the facilities to pull off a win in this one.
The Story Of This Game
Both teams struggled with one issue, missed opportunities, and that ultimately cost Dallas the game.
The Texans had numerous opportunities to put the Cowboys away far earlier than they ultimately did, and the Cowboys had chance after chance to win this game as a result.
KaVontae Turpin’s 64-yard touchdown is a perfect example of this. Houston had Dallas’ back against the wall and allowed that to happen, and the Cowboys could have built on that huge play, but they failed to.
In the end, the team that started hot had the advantage throughout.
On the opening drive, Dallas’s defense got handled to the tune of a 77-yard, six-play touchdown drive.
The only thing worse than that, and the 45-yard Joe Mixon touchdown that accompanied it, was the first play from scrimmage. Nico Collins housed a 77-yard touchdown that was only called back by an illegal man downfield penalty.
While that play itself didn’t count, it certainly set the tone for the drive, and Bryan Anger’s failed fake punt on the next drive set the tone for the entire game.
Dallas committed too many silly mistakes in this one, especially when it came to handing the ball back to Houston.
In total, the Cowboys had three turnovers on downs, a bad interception by Cooper Rush, and that ridiculous “fumble-six” after Rush was stripped and Tyler Guyton decided to try to make a yardage gain with the football.
Some advice for the rookie: never try to run after you’ve recovered a fumble. Just ask DeMarcus Lawrence about that.
That play was ultimately the final nail in the coffin for the Cowboys Week 11 hopes. They never scored after that moment, as the Texans’ pass rush began to dominate an offensive line that lost both Zack Martin and Tyler Smith to injuries late in the game.
With this losing streak continuing to snowball, injuries piling up, and their performances seemingly getting worse, we have to ask where we go from here.
The Bottom Line
It may hurt, but the bottom line here is that the Cowboys are simply a bad football team right now.
The failed fake punt, the Guyton fumble, the many near-interceptions thrown by Rush, the lack of a running game, the missed 40-yard field goal, and everything else we saw tonight pointed to that same conclusion.
They don’t have the talent to withstand a team like the Texans, and when you throw in the injuries to Martin and Smith, as well as the early-game concussion from Jake Ferguson, it is nearly impossible to come out on top.
Rush once again failed to show that he is the answer, as his completion percentage plummeted, his pocket presence killed drives and his accuracy created turnovers.
Is it time to give Trey Lance a shot? Probably, but that won’t change the overall picture for Dallas.
It was close at times, but the Cowboys Week 11 chances were never good.
The 34-10 final score is a good representation of how this game went.