The Cowboys had one obvious matchup to worry about against Houston: Tyler Guyton against a pair of wrecking balls off the edge in Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. By the end of the day, though, the Dallas left tackle came out looking like one of the biggest reasons the offense rolled to 34 points.
Guyton spent most of the game across from Hunter, and he held up far better than the Texans could have wanted. According to Patrik Walker, he lined up against Hunter 32 times and was left one-on-one on 87.5 percent of those snaps.
Hunter still found ways to matter, but not in the way Houston needed from him. He finished with just two pressures against Guyton and never got to Dak Prescott.
Anderson had fewer chances to work directly against Guyton, but the results were just as strong for Dallas. Guyton saw Anderson eight times without any help and allowed only one pressure. Anderson did not register a sack against him.
The rest of Guyton’s day was clean, too. On 12 additional snaps against other Texans defenders, he gave up no pressures and no sacks.
Houston’s star duo did make some noise elsewhere in the game, with both Anderson and Hunter finishing with a half-sack. Anderson also came close to creating a major turnover. But when the Texans matched up with Guyton, that damage never materialized.
Dallas may be getting another major boost up front soon, too. All-Pro left guard Tyler Smith has missed the first four weeks after thumb surgery, but he is now eligible to return from IR. There’s a chance he could be back Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If he isn’t ready on the short week, the return still appears close. When Smith is back beside Guyton, the Cowboys will have another high-end blocker protecting an offense that is already firing on all cylinders.
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