The Texans vs Cowboys game in Arlington was a game fans could easily have written off as unwatchable. Afterall, the surface facts described it as a bad team vs a good team. For those who’ve been paying attention, there’s simply more to it than that.
Fans deserve some credit
In 2002, the Texans beat the Cowboys in their first regular season game after becoming an expansion team. Although it was the first game of the season, it was a game Darren Woodson had described as a must-win for Dallas. This was the Super Bowl for the Texans, however, and their fans deserve some credit for that win. They played a big part in it.
In order to gain context into the Texans current season, you’d need to start with the preceding one. Their starting quarterback Deshaun Watson missed all of it. Couple the missing quarterback with his trade to the Browns and you have the start of the descent from a middle-of-the-road team to the one looking up from the very bottom.
A lot of pride on the line
Lovie Smith was still confident the Texans could win. One might expect the 1-11 Texans to have a rough game against the 9-3 Cowboys. Vegas certainly did. It was the largest projected win of the NFL season. They obviously didn’t factor in the state rivalry and a lot of pride on the line for the Texans.
🤘’s up. pic.twitter.com/iypn7P01Jd
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 11, 2022
The game had been going quite well for the Texans. They were winning in the waning minutes of the 4th quarter, and they had the ball deep in Cowboys territory. A touchdown would have sealed the win. The Cowboys were in big trouble.
On the other side of the chalk, Mike McCarthy was plotting his next move. Staring blankly onto the gridiron, the reality of his playoff-bound team on the verge of losing a home game to the worst team in the NFL was likely tickling his thoughts.
He’s now become a sneaky weapon
Demarcus Lawrence may not put up the flashy numbers in the pass rush that you get from Micah Parsons, but the stats they use can’t fully summarize his contributions. The coaches know this well. Formerly the Cowboys best defensive player, he’s now become a sneaky weapon in the grand scheme.
On the most important defensive series of the game, Lawrence willed his way through the backfield and ended Houston’s 3rd and goal abruptly with a TFL. Fourth down didn’t fare much better for Houston.
The W is what counts. On to the next. 🤘🏿 pic.twitter.com/soEz1U7lO6
— DeMarcus Lawrence (@TankLawrence) December 11, 2022
The Cowboys drive began at their own two-yard marker. Houston may have thought they were safe. But it was at this point when the meltdown was activated.
Dak recognized single high coverage and hit Dalton Schultz for an immediate 21-yard strike. He followed this up with a pump fake and a ten-yard scramble.
Then it was back to Schultz for another thirteen yards. A dump-off pass to Zeke took it to the two-minute warning. They were already inside Houston territory.
An offensive line surge followed up with a “surgical” throw to Noah Brown had the Cowboys sitting at the twenty-two-yard line.
A herd of defenders around him
Feeding his security blanket, Dak threw a beautiful pass to Schultz over the middle with a herd of defenders around him. He’d come down with it at the four-yard line. At that point there was fifty-five seconds left.
Zeke didn’t go far on the next run.
There was high drama in Arlington on the second down pass when they ruled the Gallup catch a drop. It would have otherwise been a touchdown. Now it was third down and the Cowboys still had not punched it into the endzone.
Zeke was the hero (or the villain) in the end, giving the Cowboys the lead with forty-one seconds left in the game.
Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott faked a jump into the Salvation Army red kettle following his game-winning touchdown Sunday vs. Texans. Elliott: “I’m not trying to get fined again. Maybe Christmas (Eve).” NFL docked Elliott $13,261 for last week’s celebration. pic.twitter.com/90oppSR5n0
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) December 11, 2022
This game was closer than Vegas thought, but not everyone is surprised by that fact. From the outside looking in, this game should have been a breeze for the Cowboys. The bottom line? It wasn’t.
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