Place battleground (offense): Cowboys vs. Texans head-to-head breakdown

The Dallas Cowboys are set to tackle the Houston Texans on Monday Night time Soccer this week, that’s after a wildly lackluster efficiency towards the Philadelphia Eagles. Let’s check out each groups offense’s and see which is performing higher.

QUARTERBACK

Cooper Rush/Trey Lance
vs.
CJ Stroud

Final week was an unmitigated catastrophe. Each Cooper Rush and Trey Lance mixed for 66 passing yards, zero touchdowns and three turnovers. The 66 passing yards was the ninth-fewest in a sport in franchise historical past and the two.3 common passing yards per play was third-least in franchise historical past. Mike McCarthy has introduced that Rush will begin once more this week, let’s see how lengthy he maintain onto the place towards Houston. Let’s hope in the event that they do make the change they really talk this time as Rush seemed confused when Lance took to the sphere.

C.J. Stroud exploded on the scene final season and took the league by storm. This 12 months he’s hit the sophomore stoop, and a 12 months of groups evaluating his sport has seen his manufacturing this 12 months dip. Amongst 32 beginning quarterbacks he ranks twenty sixth in completion share and his 89.1 passer ranking ranks seventeenth. Final season, Stroud scored three speeding touchdowns, for a rookie that’s good going while you add to his passing success. This season he’s rating zero speeding touchdowns and has fumbled the ball 5 instances.

Conclusion:

The Cowboys protection is permitting extra passing yards between the 2 groups however right here’s one level to notice, the Texans are permitting the second-most passing touchdowns within the league. In truth, on the highway no different protection within the NFL has allowed extra passing touchdowns than Houston.
Win: Texans

RUNNING BACK

Rico Dowdle/Ezekiel Elliott
vs.
Joe Mixon/Cam Akers

Rico Dowdle is definitely trying like an honest operating again recently. It’s refreshing to see and a few of that has to do with the run blocking trying barely higher. Dowdle made quite a lot of huge performs final week, however sadly he has to cope with the coaches stubbornness to play Ezekiel Elliott. Dowdle was averaging 4.4 yards per carry and had an enormous play the place he blasted upfield for 19 yards. Zeke averaged simply 3.6 yards per carry and his longest run was simply eight yards.

In seven video games, Joe Mixon hasn’t reached 100-yards speeding in simply two of them. So as to add extra ache to this, he’s scored no less than one landing in each single sport aside from one. His 655 rush yards are Thirteenth-most amongst operating backs and his seven speeding touchdowns is fourth-most. Solely Derrick Henry and Saquon Barkley are averaging extra rush yards per sport than Mixon, the one distinction is each of these operating backs have registered fumbles this 12 months however Mixon has stayed clear.

Conclusion:

The Cowboys are second-worst within the NFL at stopping the run and are permitting 152 yards per sport (that’s loopy). Including to their run stopping woes, Dallas is permitting essentially the most speeding touchdowns at residence, averaging three speeding touchdowns per sport in AT&T stadium, that’s simply unhappy.
Win: Texans

WIDE RECEIVERS

CeeDee Lamb/Jalen lbert/KaVontae Turpin
vs.
Nico Collins/John Metchie/Tank Dell

CeeDee Lamb was the newest sufferer of the Dallas solar in final week’s sport— annoyingly. It’s onerous to guage the receiving corps primarily based on the very fact the Cowboys quarterbacking was so astronomically poor, however there’s a likelihood issues enhance this week. The coaches can put together Rush a bit of higher however the Texans have allowed a number of passing touchdowns this 12 months. The place Rush or Lance will wrestle to ship this week to their receivers is the very fact the Texans permit the bottom completion share and have allowed solely 174 receiving yards this 12 months, fourth-best.

Nico Collins has been tending to a hamstring harm and has been out for the final 5 weeks. The information across the campfire is there’s an opportunity he fits up this week and that’s dangerous information for the Cowboys secondary. Tank Dell and John Metchie have each been having fun with the additional targets with each Collins and Stefon Diggs out. Dell had over 100-yards two weeks in the past and Metchie scored his first NFL landing final week towards Detroit.

Conclusion:

Lamb is the clear winner when it comes to broad receiver expertise and even Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin are broad receivers which have related or higher manufacturing than their Houston counterparts. The issue right here is the quarterback place, and that’s an enormous distinction for these two receiver items.
Win: Push

TIGHT END

Jake Ferguson
vs.
Dalton Schultz

Jake Ferguson helped add to the horrific turnover fee in final week’s sport with a fumble off a routine catch. It was a nasty day for everybody and Ferguson isn’t recognized for being a turnover man.

Schultz will get to return to AT&T and he’ll relish strolling again onto the sphere in Arlington. Schultz has solely 29 receptions for 310 yards, amongst tight ends that ranks seventeenth, which is beneath Ferguson.

Conclusion:

Neither tight finish has scored a landing this 12 months and each defenses match up fairly equally when it comes to manufacturing allowed towards the tight finish place.
Win: Cowboys

OFFENSIVE LINE

The run blocking was an enchancment, however with the ball set so low this season, that isn’t saying a lot. The optimistic view right here is that issues are on the up. Terence Steele and Zack Martin each allowed a sack and that proper hand aspect of the road is having some actual issues. Cooper Beebe additionally allowed a sack however it was Tyler Smith that was star of the road final week. He was rock strong permitting no pressures and was one a part of the road that managed to climate the storm. Asim Richards did adequately in Tyler Guyton’s place, the query is whether or not Guyton resumes his function this week. To this point this season the Cowboys offensive line has allowed the eighth-most pressures and sacks, however their run blocking is their greatest weak point.

The Houston offensive line is possibly its greatest subject on offense. They did lose two items to injured reserve this 12 months and their line statistically is worse than Dallas. They’ve allowed the fifth-most pressures and third-most sacks, averaging 3.5 sacks allowed per sport. As for the run blocking, their unit might be struggling a lot the identical as Dallas however the work finished Mixon and his capacity to masks over the deficiencies has helped in a ginormous method. This unit has had its inconsistencies this 12 months.
Win: Push