Tyler Guyton’s heart was in the right place.
Guyton’s mistake won’t come close to “butt fumble” lore, but it summed up the sorry state of the Dallas Cowboys. Guyton, the Cowboys’ first-round draft pick and left tackle, allowed pressure on a fourth-quarter play against the Houston Texans, and quarterback Cooper Rush had the ball knocked out of his hands. Guyton scooped the ball out of the air and had visions of glory as he started to run. But he was hit by safety Jalen Pitre and learned that 322-pound men shouldn’t be carrying the ball in the NFL. Guyton fumbled, Texans defensive end Derek Barnett scooped it up and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown and a 17-point Texans lead.
Even worse, Guyton injured his shoulder on the hit and left the game.
The way the Cowboys’ offense has played with Rush, everyone knew 17 points was way too much of a hole for the Cowboys to get out of. Dallas fans could feel free to turn in early, if they hadn’t already.
The Texans didn’t play very well but they didn’t have to. The Cowboys at least kept it relatively close after a terrible start, but they are one of the NFL’s worst teams right now and it showed. The Texans cruised to a 34-10 win to improve to 7-4 and stay atop the AFC South.
It was the sixth straight home game in which the Cowboys trailed by at least 20 points, which is an NFL record, according to ESPN.
The Cowboys are 3-7, even worse without injured quarterback Dak Prescott and it’s not going to get much better. They can just hope to limit the embarrassing moments the rest of the way.
Cowboys have a hideous start
On the first play of the game, Nico Collins ran nearly untouched for a 77-yard Houston touchdown. It was called back due to an ineligible man downfield. No problem, because a few plays later Joe Mixon ran almost untouched for a 45-yard touchdown, the longest the Cowboys have allowed on the ground this season.
Then, the Cowboys tried a fake punt that went nowhere, as Texans receiver John Metchie III sniffed it out and nailed Dallas’ Juanyeh Thomas as soon as he caught a pass from punter Bryan Anger, well short of the first-down marker. Dallas was having the worst start imaginable, and that didn’t even include metal pieces falling from the roof of AT&T Stadium when the Cowboys tried to open it hours before kickoff. (The Texans’ social media team didn’t miss a chance to poke fun.)
It looked like the Cowboys, coming in with a 3-6 record and little hope of a turnaround, might get blown out on their home turf against Texas’ other NFL team. Give Dallas credit. They battled back after falling behind by 14 points.
A bad coverage by Texans cornerback Jeff Okudah allowed Cowboys receiver KaVontae Turpin to catch a pass on the run and speed past everyone for a 64-yard score. That got Dallas back in the game. The Cowboys’ defense tightened up after that, and what looked like a potentially horrible Monday night matchup was at least close at the half. The Cowboys trailed 17-10.
Neither team was particularly sharp, but at least the Cowboys kept it interesting.
Texans pull away
It’s troubling that the Texans took so long to distance themselves from an inept Cowboys team.
C.J. Stroud is sinking deeper into a sophomore slump. The Texans started hot but then had a lull for a couple of quarters. Houston didn’t score an offensive touchdown from the first quarter until 3:16 remained, when Mixon punched in his third touchdown of the night. The Cowboys appeared to made a 64-yard field goal to cut Houston’s lead to 20-13, but the Texans had a head slap penalty on the play. The Cowboys took the 15 yards and the first down, as any team trailing by 10 points would, but then went for it on fourth down later in the drive and didn’t get it. Rush missed an open receiver on the play. If he hit that pass and Dallas scored, perhaps the Texans would have gone on upset alert. Barnett’s touchdown on the fumble from Guyton removed any suspense.
Houston can attempt to fix things and get better, hopeful for better days as they cruise to a likely division title. The Cowboys don’t have anything to look forward to except the end of a miserable season. It can’t come soon enough.
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