The Houston Texans take on the Dallas Cowboys Sunday 12:00 p.m. Central Time at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The two franchises are as antipodal to each other as they are at each end of I-45. The Cowboys are 9-3 and the hottest wild-card team in the NFC. Dallas may even have a path to overtake the Philadelphia Eagles as NFC East champions.
Houston is 1-10-1 and en route to possess the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Coach Lovie Smith will be lucky to stay the coach, and even the seat for general manager Nick Caserio is starting to warm up — at least for fans.
To help preview the Week 14 tilt, K.D. Drummond, managing editor of the Cowboys Wire, stopped by to field a few questions.
Is there even a rivalry?
KD — No, not really. No one on the Cowboys cares that the Texans exist and the fanbase, aside from those who live around Texans fans, don’t register this anywhere among the top games on the schedule when the game comes around every four years. Certainly, losing in Houston’s inaugural appearance was an embarrassment, but nobody cares. The Texans have never even scored 20 points against Dallas. On the Cowboys side, this is a typical “every opponent every week thinks Dallas is their Super Bowl” matchup.
What has Dak Prescott done to be great in 2022?
KD — Prescott continues to be awesome against the blitz. He continues to show his value as evidenced by his advanced stat prowess, such as leading the NFL in EPA+CPOE [expected points average plus completion percentage over expected] since returning from his injury. No, he isn’t a gunslinger, but he isn’t a game manager in that he is deadly consistent in mid-range passing that includes putting balls in difficult windows on a regular basis.
What has Dan Quinn done to make the defense great?
KD — Quinn is obviously great when it comes to configuring the various aspects of a defense. He’s been given great talent to work with, but his defensive line rotations and stunts leave offensive lines confused and perplexed. He’s flexible, changing to primarily Cover 1 in 2021 to Cover 2 in 2022. He runs three-safety looks as often as three-CBs. But most importantly, his players gravitate to his personality.
Who are some unheralded Cowboys that Houston fans should keep an eye on?
KD — Safety Donovan Wilson could potentially make a Pro Bowl this season. He leads the team in tackles, has four sacks and is flourishing in his role. Rookie corner Daron Bland has three interceptions. Both of those guys are Day 3 picks. On offense, TE Jake Ferguson is capable of making big plays and is a tenacious blocker. RT Terence Steele is one of the league’s best young tackles and there may even be a Tyron Smith sighting on Sunday.
What is your prediction?
KD — In five all-time meetings, the Texans have never scored more than 19 points against Dallas. That’s not likely to happen this week either. Cowboys 45, Texans 13
