DALLAS — The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans meet Sunday Night at NRG Stadium. Just another game right? Well, not if you ask Texans’ safety Justin Reid who said this is their Super Bowl. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones even said that it is a brotherly rivalry. Whether or not you agree with either point, this is a pivotal game for both teams.
Dallas evened their record at 2-2 following a dramatic final 2:17 against Detroit which saw them lose a fourth quarter lead before winning on a walk-off field goal. Houston won their overtime matchup against divisional rival Indianapolis and now sit at 1-3.
For Houston, if they want to continue to be relevant this season, they need a win against Dallas on their home field. For the Cowboys, this is a game they will certainly want to claim if for no other reason than starting the season 0-3 on the road won't engender much hope going forward.
The Cowboys are also currently in an easier portion of their schedule and are hoping to take care of business before things get more difficult. For example, Dallas has a Week 6 matchup with Jacksonville and their vaunted defense on the horizon before they start taking on their rivals in the NFC East and playoff contenders from the NFC.
One player the Cowboys hope to continue leaning on is Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott should be geared up and ready to go against the Texans despite being nicked up in the Cowboys’ 26-24 victory against Detroit. Zeke touched the ball nearly 30 times in the victory – rushing 25 times and making four receptions.
The NFL’s leading rusher is coming off back-to-back 100-yard performances and looking to be the first running back this season to reach that accolade against the Texans. He might just have his work cut out for him.
Defensively, the Texans aren't the strongest unit overall but they are still capable of making plays with stars such as J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and Tyrann Mathieu. This Texans’ defense has been rushed against 109 times for 377 yards and only one touchdown.
One could argue that they haven’t faced a back of Zeke's caliber yet. They give up 3.5 yards per carry (YPC) and Elliott has averaged 5.8 on 73 carries. He averages more yards after contact per attempt than Houston has given up this season.
Thus far, Houston has yet to face a top ten rushing attack. Of their opponents this season, the Patriots have the 11th ranked rushing attack, the Titans are 14th, the Giants are 27th and and the Colts are 29th. Dallas has the highest yards per attempt in the NFL at 5.8.
The Cowboys are built to go as far as Zeke will take them which means that he needs to hit the Texans early and often for Dallas to win this game. Putting Elliott's superior YPC numbers up against an untested rush defense will help Dallas control the clock but also keep the opposing offense off the field and keep the Cowboys' defense fresh.
Houston becomes increasingly difficult to run against in the second half of games with just 3.1 YPA after halftime. Elliott averages 6.8 yards per carry in the second half. This could be misleading given that the Cowboys were able to run for 127 yards after being down two scores in each of the games against the Panthers and Seahawks. On the other hand, running the ball in the second half against worn out defenses is the M.O. for this squad.
Despite their top 10 defense in terms of yards allowed on the ground, the Texans are the complete opposite in pass defense. This is something of a reverse Jekyll and Hyde from the team Dallas faced last week as Detroit combined their top passing defense with porous run defense. Houston has allowed 8.1 yards per attempt to the tune of 1,152 yards and 11 touchdowns.
In three games, the Cowboys have given up 14 quarterback sacks. In the fourth game, against the Giants, they weren't a real threat considering their lone pass rusher was hurt and inactive for the game. In the other games, Dallas has averaged 4.7 sacks allowed in each of those contests.
With one of the better pass rushing duos in the league for Houston, the best way to combat it might just be feeding Zeke and building a passing game off play action and zone reads. Sound familiar? It should. It's the way the Cowboys have been winning games since Ezekiel Elliott first took the field with the star on his helmet.
Do you expect Zeke to have success against the Texans' defense or will Dallas have to rely more on Dak to lead them in Houston? Share your thoughts with Patrick on Twitter @DraftCowboys.
