The Cowboys’ defense took another step forward against the Houston Texans, even if the full picture still looks messy. The run defense showed real life, the pass rush finally flashed in spots, and the unit gave Dallas a chance to settle in before the game got away.
But there’s no getting around the damage through the air. C.J.
Stroud and Nico Collins were too much, and the secondary spent too much of the afternoon chasing.
Houston put up three touchdowns and three field goals against Dallas, with two of those field goals coming on drives that started at the Dallas 48 and the Dallas 45 in the first half. The Texans also leaned on explosive passing plays to tilt the game. Stroud threw for 347 yards and posted a 126.7 rating, while Collins, returning from injury, piled up 118 receiving yards on seven catches and scored twice.
Where Dallas did win was against the run. Houston managed only 62 yards on 19 carries, which stood as the Cowboys’ best showing of the season against opposing backs. That was the part of the performance that gave this defense something to build on.
Malik Hooker and Caleb Downs tied for the team lead with seven tackles apiece, and each finished with five solo stops. Hooker also led the Cowboys with two pass breakups in his first game back from injury. Rashan Gary and Quinnen Williams each got to the quarterback once as the pass rush finally showed some late energy.
The advanced numbers tell the same story. Dallas ranked 10th in run defense for the week, but 29th in pass defense, according to SumerSports.
The issue was explosive plays. Houston posted a 16% explosive play rate, with eight explosives on 50 qualifying snaps.
Nico Collins, Jaylin Noel, Xavier Hutchinson, Kayshon Boutte, Cade Stover, and Dalton Schultz all logged gains of 20 yards or more. The hope is that newly acquired Joey Porter Jr. can help tighten up the back end.
The rookies had mixed results. Downs was active and tied for the team lead in tackles, but he wasn’t a major swing player overall.
Depending on the coverage call, he may have given up his first receiving touchdown of the year. Even so, he kept showing up with hard solo tackles in space and continued to bring energy to the defense.
Jaishawn Barham had a quieter day, finishing with one solo tackle. Still, the front limited what Houston could do on the ground, and Barham showed some juice as a blitzer, at times helping force the ballcarrier into other defenders.
Malachi Lawrence had another frustrating outing. He ended with one solo tackle and no sacks, despite carrying a strong pass rush win rate.
The pressure is there. The finishing touch isn’t.
That’s often the story with young edge rushers, but it didn’t make this one any less disappointing. LT Overton barely played, though he did flash with two quick wins into the Texans backfield.
The secondary had its own issues. DaRon Bland stayed in tight coverage for much of the game, but he couldn’t quite close on several big catches that fell just beyond his reach.
Shavon Revel was on a limited snap count, and Joey Porter Jr. was as well. What Porter Jr. did show, though, looked encouraging: he was targeted once, allowed no receptions, and played 19 snaps in coverage.
Christian Parker’s defense earned a C. That fits the day.
The unit wasn’t a disaster, and it wasn’t a breakthrough either. It kept Dallas in it through the first half and allowed only 14 points after halftime, but the pass rush and secondary kept dragging the grade down.
The biggest bright spot may have been buying the offense time to get settled, something Dallas didn’t get often last season.
Now comes another quick test against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday at AT&T Stadium. It’s another chance for this defense to build on the progress, with a backup rookie quarterback in Jalon Daniels on the other side. The question is whether the Cowboys can finally turn these flashes into something more complete.
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