IRVING, TEXAS - The Cowboys special teams, running cold then hot in the first two games of the preseason, went cold again here Friday night against the Houston Texans, fumbling away one kickoff, nearly fumbling away a punt and allowing the Texans kickoff returns of 68 and 52 yards.
The two kickoff returns set the Texans up with a field goal and then a late fourth-quarter touchdown, which could have tied up the game at 23 had Texans head coach Gary Kubiak decided to kick the extra point with 2:05 remaining in the game instead of going for the game-winning two-point conversion that failed.
The trend is troubling since the Cowboys had difficulty covering punts in the first preseason game against San Diego, and also turned the ball over when fumbling away a punt return that night. The special teams made a 180 last Saturday in Denver when the coverage and returns turned top notch.
But the inability to cover two kicks and fumbling away another certainly could have dropped the Cowboys to 0-3 this preseason if not for the missed two-point conversion which allowed the Cowboys to escape with a 23-22 victory.
"We had two rookies who could have done a better job," Cowboys head coach Wade Phillips said of the game-opening 68-yard return by the Texans, "and then did it better later on."
There were two special teams bright spots for the Cowboys, though, Adam Jones returning a punt 18 yards, almost breaking it for a touchdown, and then kicker Nick Folk continuing on his torrid pace, hitting on his two field-goal attempts from 48, 41 and then what turned out to be the game-winner from 35 yards.
Cowboys Cut The Penalties
After being plagued by penalties and mental mistakes the first two preseason games, the Cowboys showed a marked improvement Friday. After being flagged seven times for 96 yards in the first game at San Diego, the Cowboys had nine penalties for 78 yards in game two against Denver.
They were much better Friday, committing just five penalties for 38 yards against Houston.
After slamming the team for all the mental mistakes in game two against the Broncos, this week Wade Phillips emphasized playing a cleaner game without losing any aggression.
"We talked about turnovers and sudden changes (in field position)," Phillips said. "You've just got to go out there and play your game."
The worst part of those mistakes the first two weeks was the timing, with several of those penalties stopping drives or giving the opponent a first down. Only one penalty Friday was of much consequence, a 19-yard pass interference penalty on Pat Watkins.
And that one was suspect - the safety was making a diving play on a pass and barely hooked Houston's tight end with his right arm.
"It was bull," Watkins said. "I thought it was ticky-tack."
-Josh Ellis
Anderson Works In New Formation
The Cowboys showed a new look offensively to end the first quarter, and it paid off. With Marion Barber as the lone back, the team platooned tight end Tony Curtis and fullback Deon Anderson into the slot on the left side with a wide receiver. Anderson motioned right and Barber ran off right tackle.
The result?
Barber ran 17 yards and set up a touchdown. Later while working in the slot, Anderson took a flat pass and scrambled 12 yards. So with Miles Austin out for another month and Isaiah Stanback banged up, have the Cowboys found their new third receiver? Not quite.
"I've got hands," Anderson joked. "Our offense is crazy. Sometimes they'll have me go in motion all the way out. I've got to work on my speed, though. You saw I got caught from behind on that catch."
Anderson also gets credit for the block that broke Barber for a 13-yard gain on a sweep right. The Cowboys netted a field goal on that first-quarter drive. Each time the Cowboys lined Anderson in the slot, they called a run.
-Josh Ellis
Texans WR Hospitalized With Neck Injury
The scariest moment of the game occurred early Friday night when Texans' wide receiver Harry Williams was taken off the field on a stretcher and hospitalized after being hit in the head during a collision on a kickoff.
After being on the field for nearly 10 minutes, the Texas Stadium medical team placed Williams on a stretcher and sent him to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where he will stay overnight. Texans' team doctors confirmed that Williams will have surgery this weekend to fuse two vertebrae, an operation that will be performed by Dr. Drew Dossett, one of the Cowboys' team physicians and a nationally-recognized spine surgeon.
"He's got movement throughout his body," Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said. "All the feedback I'm getting is that Harry will be fine."
Williams, who was trying to tackle Cowboys returner Isaiah Stanback, hit straight-on with teammate Nick Ferguson, jamming Williams' neck in the process.
Williams spent most of last season on the Texans' practice squad, playing in only two games. He is considered a long shot to make the team as a receiver, but has been one of Houston's best special teams players in the preseason.
- Nick Eatman
Brotherly Love
Cowboys running back Marion Barber has a running style that isn't so defender-friendly. So, maybe it's a good thing that his brother, a free safety for the Texans, never got in the game at the same time Friday night.
Barber's younger brother, Dominique, a sixth-round pick of the Texans this year, played some in the second half, but never against his big brother.
"No, we missed each other tonight," the younger Barber said. "It was fun to watch him out there. He's a great player. But if I was in there, and he was running, you have to do what you have to do."
Dominique Barber said there weren't many brotherly battles when the two were growing up.
"No, he wasn't like that too much," Dominique said of Marion. "He didn't do that big-brother stuff to me. He was always pretty cool like that. We're really good friends, too."
While Marion made the Pro Bowl last year, and is now the Cowboys' featured back, Dominique has an uphill battle to make the team and could wind up on the Texans' practice squad.
- Nick Eatman
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