ARLINGTON — Heading into Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, the Houston Texans did not have many positives going their way.
Second-year quarterback Davis Mills was inserted back into the offense after being replaced for two games by backup Kyle Allen due to ineffectiveness. The Texans didn’t know how Mills would respond to being placed on the bench.
The offensive line had a tough job ahead of them, going up against one of the top-rated defenses in the league, led by linebacker Micah Parsons who, at times, can be hard to contain once he gets a running start.
Two offensive weapons in starting wide receivers, Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, were ruled out of the game due to injuries. That would leave players like Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett to pick up the slack, even though they did not have a lot of first-team reps with Mills.
The list could go on and on with the number of issues the Texans would face heading into AT&T Stadium.
Yet, with just over three minutes left in the game, they had a lead on the team that most have predicted to make it to at least the NFC Championship Game.
Houston was able to stay in the game offensively by deploying a two-quarterback system with Mills and third-string backup Jeff Driskel. They alternated in and out of the game, keeping the Cowboys’ explosive defense guessing what would happen on each snap.
The Texans held a six-minute advantage in time of possession over the Cowboys in the 27-23 loss, mainly due to the job done by the offensive line.
For the second consecutive game against an elite NFL defense, they provided running lanes for rookie running back Dameon Pierce, who finished the game with 78 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries before exiting the game with an ankle injury.
Houston held an opponent to no sacks in back-to-back games, which is very hard to do, especially when the Cowboys are second in the NFL with a total of 48 sacks.
“I think we had a good game plan coming in,” said Texans offensive lineman Tytus Howard. “We wanted to establish the run first and then go to the pass. We did that good early. I think, as a front, we played hard, and everybody on our offense played hard. We kept them from getting to the quarterback, but in the end, on the goal line, we have to score.”
With a 23-20 late in the fourth quarter, the defense forced a turnover on Dak Prescott inside the Cowboys’ ten-yard line, giving the offense a chance to increase the lead. The Texans got the ball down to the Dallas one-yard line before turning it over on downs after quarterback Jeff Driskel was tackled before crossing the goal line.
The Cowboys would get the ball back and go 98 yards to score to put them up by four points. Houston got the ball back with under a minute left, but a failed hail mary pass was intercepted by a Dallas defensive back and ended the game.
Howard believes that the offense may have found some continuity in the offensive game plan in the future.
“If it is one thing I can take forward into the next game and the rest of the season, is that people say we have one of the worst offenses in the league, and I don’t believe that,” said Howard. “The Cowboys have one of the top defenses in the league, and I think we ran the ball and moved the ball up and down the field all game. If we can do it on them, we can do it on anybody else. So, we just have to have that mindset every week.”
