10 thoughts on the Cowboys loss to the Texans: The Dallas Cowboys got caught up in another nail-biter only this week they came up short Youth Kavon Frazier Jersey , losing to the Houston Texans 19-16 in overtime. The Cowboys had a chance to grab the division league, but now join the Philadelphia Eagles at 2-3 on the year. The Washington Redskins play on Monday Night and will remain in atop the division regardless of what happens in their matchup against the New Orleans Saints.This game was a bitter pill to swallow as the Cowboys showed some holes on both sides of the ball. The offense struggled, failing to score at least 17 points for the third time in just five games. The defense looked great at times, but then would give up some big plays that ended up being all the Texans needed to pull out the win. Here are my 10 thoughts on the Cowboys loss to the Texans.1. Big play tight endsIn each of the Cowboys first two drives, their biggest play came in the form of a passing play to their tight end. First it was Geoff Swaim who, for the second-straight game, caught a pass and turned on the jets for a 43-yard gain. Then, on their next possession, Rico Gathers caught a pass for 32 yards. Even Blake Jarwin caught his first ever career pass for a key first down in overtime.It’s great that Swaim is playing well, but it’s terrible that he was the team’s leading receiver with three catches for 55 years. It’s the second time this season he’s been the team’s leading receiver. That’s never good.2. Can’t close the dealThe Cowboys did a great job moving the ball on their first two drives, but had to settle for field goals each time. The offense was great on the early downs, but struggled on third down. Dallas had a chance to make a statement early with a couple scores, but unfortunately that statement was - they still are having trouble getting in the end zone.Once again, kicker Brett Maher had to do most of the scoring. The Cowboys had four scores on the night, with three of them being field goals. If the Cowboys offense can’t find a way to turn those red zone opportunities into touchdowns, it’s going to be a long season for this team.3. Too much dancing time for WatsonThe Cowboys defense struggled to get pressure on Deshaun Watson. He would only get sacked one time and that was a one-yard loss as he was trying to escape Jaylon Smith. The Texans quarterback would create more time by running around in the pocket. Even when the defense looked like they might get him, he narrowly escaped and made a play. Watson kept extending plays allowing him to his receivers and keep the drive going. He also churned out 40 yards on 10 carries.Those hits started taking a toll however, as his second half scrambling declined. Considering the state of the Texans offensive line, it was disappointing that the Cowboys pass rush couldn’t come away with more plays.4. Jaylon comes up bigThe Cowboys were driving towards the end of the first half, but an interception shifted the momentum back to the Texans. In 90 seconds, Watson led his offense 67 yards down the field. Unfortunately for the Texans, they need 68. Houston had the ball inches from the goal line and Texans head coach Bill O’Brian decided to go for it on fourth down. If they punched it in there, it would’ve given them a 17-6 lead going into halftime. Instead, it remained a four point game as Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith flashed some of that Notre Dame speed and chased Watson down before he could get in the end zone.That was worthy of a swipe.It was also a nice game from his linebacker partner Leighton Vander Esch as the rookie racked up 14 total tackles, 11 of which were solo. The Cowboys have some things to sort out on defense, but the absence of Sean Lee doesn’t appear to be affecting them.5. What can Brown do for you?The second half couldn’t have started any better when the Cowboys defense came away with a turnover. Cornerback Anthony Brown was able to pull away Deandre Hopkins arms, causing the ball to come loose. Fellow cornerback Jourdan Lewis was right there to jump on it and then get up and scamper 14 yards setting up the Cowboys offense deep in Texans territory?The Cowboys could not ride that momentum into seven points however, as they once again stalled out and had to settle for a field goal.6. Costly non-catchesI’m not going to call them drops (although some were exactly that), but the Cowboys receivers struggled to catch the ball on Sunday night. Whether it was poorly thrown passes, having a defender draped all over them, or just a flat letting the ball slip through your hands, the Cowboys had some costly incompletions. Deonte Thompson just couldn’t come down with a third down pass that would have kept the chains moving. Tavon Austin made a great play on the ball while toe-tapping the sidelines, but the ball popped out as he contacted the ground. The coaches would challenge the play, but it would not be overturned. And then there were the two interceptions that were deflected off the receivers. In fact, all four of Dak’s interceptions this year have came off of deflections. That’s not to say they weren’t his fault as some of these passes were not thrown well, but Dallas continues to be on the wrong end of these deflected balls.7. Another costly mistake by GregoryRandy Gregory hurt his team in Seattle when a personal foul put the Seahawks in field goal position at the end of the half Youth Jaylon Smith Jersey , resulting in a free three points. Against the Texans, Gregory had a costly penalty that gave Houston new life. On a third and long play in the fourth quarter, Gregory would get called for a hands to the face penalty, giving the Texans a new set of downs.The Texans would keep the drive going and kick a field goal. In a game where points are scarce, these plays are damaging.8. Goal line standsThe Texans offense would come up with some big plays, but the Cowboys defense really buckled down when they got near the goal line. Houston had the ball near the goal line four different times, but only once did they score a touchdown. The Cowboys defense forced two field goals and had a turnover on downs at the end of the first half. What a great defensive stand by the Cowboys defense to hold them there. It’s a shame they couldn’t muster up enough offense to go with it.9. Houdini Part IIYou all know the infamous Tony Romo spin move to escape J.J. Watt the last time these two teams met where he then heaved it into the end zone for a touchdown. Well, Dak got his Houdini moment against Watt as well. After escaping from Watt, Prescott was able to roll to his left and launch it down field to Tavon Austin.10. Controversial 4th down callThe Cowboys won the toss in overtime and elected to receive the ball. They started out pretty good with a couple first downs after a Ezekiel Elliott and Blake Jarwin were able to turn short passes into first downs. But then the team was faced with a 3rd-and-1 at the Texans 42-yard line. After a Zeke run went for no gain, head coach Jason Garrett decided to punt the ball rather than go for it on fourth down. Was that a mistake?Well, as it turned it, it proved costly as the Texans moved the ball down the field and kicked the game winning field goal. The Cowboys could have taken matter in their own hands and just went for it there. Of course, the Texans faced a similar situation last week when Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich gambled and went for it, but failed to convert. It proved costly for them as it set the Texans up nicely for a game winning field goal.Reich took a lot of heat for that decision and you better believe Garrett is going to as well this week. After weeks of seeing things go wrong for the Dallas Cowboys, it was certainly nice - and even a relief - to see things turn out so positively in the 27-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The biggest impact was that Dallas kept at least a slim hope for the playoffs alive. But a long road remains ahead. Meanwhile, there were some interesting, and for a change, positive things we learned from the game - and one big thing that still is up in the air.Dak may be returning to his winning waysWatching the game, especially from the point of Michael Gallup screen pass that led to the first touchdown, was like going through the standing stones back to 2016 and seeing that fourth-round draft pick surprise everyone. There was a lot of vintage Dak Prescott from then on. He still has his flaws, but for a little over a half, he showed us his strengths. Here is just one of the plays he made (on similar ones, he has failed too many times this season). The difference here (as Cowboys blogger/writer Joey Ickes observed) is that he did not bail out when the pressure came, but climbed the pocket, which allowed him to keep his eyes downfield and see Cole Beasley coming open. In the first half of the season, far too often Prescott tried to escape the pass rush by escaping to the outside, often with a spin move. That reliance on his athleticism to get him out of trouble means that he had to take his eyes off the receivers, and things would generally break down before he could look their way again. If he can maintain this pocket discipline, things are going to be much better for the Cowboys.I mentioned the screen play to Gallup earlier because that seemed to be a turning point in the game for Prescott. The team struggled a lot on third downs before the bye week, so thisconversion on 3rd and 15 really gave them a boost, especially Prescott. His effectiveness was noticeably better after that.Prescott still has certain limitations, but this game showed how he could still thrive if things are right. Which brings us to some other things that really helped in the game.Zeke got fedThe game started out like so many for Ezekiel Elliott, with little room to run. His yards gained on his carries to start the game, in order, went for 1, 2 Womens Chidobe Awuzie Jersey , 1, 3, 5, 11 but wiped out by a penalty, 2, and 1. Little space to run, nothing really happening.And then he burst up the middle, hurdled a defender, and only the turf monster stopped him from going right to the end zone. As it was, he got 32 yards - and the dam was breached. He, of course, went on to amass 151 yards on the ground, averaging 7.9 yards a carry - despite that slow start. This is why the Cowboys don’t want to give up on the running game too early, because Elliott and the offensive line do tend to wear down the defense. And once Dallas found the end zone, the long runs by Elliott just kept coming. It was a fine example of how the air and ground games are interrelated, with one helping the other. When both your quarterback and running back are on, then the opponent has to pick their poison. Load up the box to try and stop the run, or drop back to cover the pass. If you can catch them guessing wrong on what you are doing, you will eat - just like Zeke did.This wide receiver group is suddenly a whole lot betterObviously, the promotion of Lance Lenoir from the practice squad was the key . . .Oh, you say that Amari Cooper had something to do with this? OK, point conceded.Cooper has, in two games, proven he is a legit WR1, and his production projects out to a 1,000 yard season if he had a full 16 games with Dallas. And his presence is making things better for the rest of the receivers, at least based on the evidence of this game. Gallup, Cole Beasley, and Allen Hurns all had multiple receptions, and no drops. Hurns in particular looked much better, and even seemed to be running crisper routes himself. Funny how a good example and a little friendly competition in the room can work out, huh?The Colombo era is off to a great startPaul Alexander was replaced by Marc Colombo (and Hudson Houck) in an attempt to fix the malaise on the offensive line. And despite having Xavier Su’a-Filo replacing an injured Connor Williams, as well as Adam Redmond having to cover 13 snaps for a dinged-up Zack Martin, that is what happened in this game. The Elliott stat line speaks to the effectiveness of the run blocking, and although Prescott was sacked four times, they once again seemed to happen when he held the ball too long or Authentic Cole Beasley Jersey , as on the opening play of the second half, the wrong play was called for the defense they faced as Michael Bennett did not bite at all on the bootleg and came in untouched to blast Prescott. But after that, Dak seemed to have good protection on most of his pass plays, and it paid off as the Cowboys would go on to put together back to back 75-yard touchdown drives, both answering Philly tying the score. Those two drives are worth looking a bit deeper at, because they show just how well the Cowboys offense was clicking. There were four third downs converted between the two, and Prescott had only one incomplete pass. Things were operating like a well-oiled machine when they needed it most. It takes all the parts, and they were all doing their job.Let’s not forget the new sheriff on defenseLeighton Vander Esch was a divisive and controversial pick in the first round this year. Now, it is hard to find any fault for a rookie who is not only proving to be the most productive defender on the team, but by just about any standard is one of the best linebackers in the NFL. You can say that linebacker is a devalued position in the pass-centric league. But he is showing he is a lot more than just a run stopper.That play set the tone for the first half, when Philadelphia could only muster three points. And he also provided a crucial stop with his tackle for a loss to set up the failed fourth down conversion late in the game. It’s like he is a healthier clone of Sean Lee.The weak spot for the defenseOK, it can’t all be unicorns and rainbows. After a very solid performance in the first half, the Dallas secondary started springing some leaks. Some of the yards surrendered may have been part of a move to softer coverage, but mostly it just looks like the Eagles got things figured out. Zach Ertz in particular was just catching everything, and getting nice yards while doing it. In their defense, Chidobe Awuzie broke up two passes in the first half, including one that likely saved a touchdown, and Xavier Woods did even more, with three PBUs. Still, this has to tighten up if the Cowboys don’t want to bank on Prescott and Elliott having dominating performances for much of each game.But the big question is still out thereThat is: Have Scott Linehan and Jason Garrett finally figured out how to game plan and call the offense?There is no question they had it right in this game. But as has been shown, part of that came from really good performances by Dak, Zeke, Amari, and, well, just about everyone on offense. Which takes us right back to the chicken-or-egg problem. How much has poor performance by the players hampered the play-calling, and how much of the poor performance is because the players were being put into bad situations by the OC?It is going to take more than one game to give us any real indication of whether this is another outlier like the Jacksonville Jaguars game, or if the team is really finding a path forward. The way things worked against the Eagles speaks for itself, but Dallas has yet to show a shred of consistency from one game to the next. Now the team is headed back to Atlanta, where the Falcons did a number on Prescott last season that probably still wakes him up from nightmares of Adrian Clayborn coming nearly unhindered to throw him down again.Prescott showed some resiliency in Philly, which is a positive. Now he and everyone else on the Cowboys, from the head coach on down, need to prove that it was not just a fluke.