The Cowboys left Houston with a win that mattered in more than one way, and the trip back home comes with plenty to sort through. Dallas snapped the skid that started with the loss to Baltimore in Rio, and now the clock flips quickly to Thursday night against Tampa Bay. Before that happens, though, the tape from Sunday tells a pretty clear story: some Cowboys rose, some slipped, and a few are still sitting in place.
CeeDee Lamb was the headliner, and honestly, what else is new? He looked like the ultimate alpha against the Texans, and Next Gen Stats said he hauled in multiple passes against six different Houston defenders.
That kind of spread-the-pain production is ridiculous. Lamb was the guy Dallas leaned on when the game was there to be won, and he answered every time.
At this point, he’s not just meeting the hype - he’s playing like the best version of himself in a Cowboys uniform.
George Pickens also made his presence felt in a big way. He hasn’t matched Lamb’s exact impact through four games, but he’s making himself impossible to ignore.
His 53-yard catch early in the second half helped jolt the offense awake, and his big gain on the game-winning drive was a major piece of how Dallas got over the line. Pickens is giving the Cowboys what they need when the moment calls for it.
Ryan Flournoy earned his flowers, too. This may have been his best outing since arriving in Dallas, and while the sample size is still small, he looked like the kind of third passing-game option the Cowboys have been searching for.
When the defense is taking away other things and making life messy, somebody has to keep the offense moving. That was Flournoy’s role in Houston.
Up front, Tyler Guyton continued to settle in at left tackle. There was a point not all that long ago when it wasn’t even clear he’d hold the job, especially after Brian Schottenheimer said in the offseason that Nate Thomas was competing for it.
Thomas is now with the Texans and was inactive for this game, while Guyton stayed put and helped keep the left side steady. That stability matters, and it should only get better when Tyler Smith returns.
On defense, Quinnen Williams is starting to look like the player Dallas traded for and extended. The last two games have shown the disruptive force the Cowboys thought they were getting from the Jets, and Sunday was another step in that direction. As the second half tightened up, Williams helped keep things under control, which is exactly the kind of impact Dallas needs from him.
Joey Porter Jr. made his debut and wasted no time flashing why the Cowboys wanted him. In 19 snaps in coverage, he didn’t allow a single catch on a target, and C.J.
Stroud seemed to steer clear of him whenever possible. For a player Dallas just acquired this past week, that’s about as clean an introduction as you can draw up.
The Cowboys went looking for someone who could take away a side of the field, and Porter looked the part immediately.
Not everything was clean, though, and the special teams issues are still hanging around. Brandon Aubrey missed after a 62-yard try was blocked, and the second chance at 65 yards did not go in.
It’s fair to note that Will Anderson Jr. made the first one tougher, and that the second ask was a difficult one after a block. But Aubrey’s reputation can’t keep doing all the work for him.
He’s the NFL’s highest-paid kicker, and Sunday ended with a miss that mattered.
Brian Schottenheimer landed in the middle. The first half was rough, especially the end of it, when he rolled the dice on Aubrey from 65 after the earlier block and wound up giving Houston short field position that led to a field goal before halftime.
But he settled in as the game progressed. He said all week he wouldn’t let the Ravens loss define him or hold the team back, and when the Cowboys found themselves in a nearly identical late-game spot, he trusted his stars and let them finish the job.
That’s growth.
DaRon Bland had the kind of day opposing offenses can exploit when they know where to look. With Joey Porter Jr. on the other side, Stroud attacked Bland early and often, and it worked. Right now, Bland stands out as one of the weaker spots on the roster, and that’s something Dallas has to clean up if this keeps happening.
Nick Sorensen’s special teams unit is still a problem, and the numbers on the field are matching the frustration around it. The operation looks clunky, even with the visible talent of Aubrey, KaVontae Turpin, and Bryan Anger.
That disconnect is hard to ignore. Whether the answer involves C.J.
Goodwin or something else, the Cowboys need to find it fast.
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