HOUSTON – As someone who grew up a little brother, it's usually not fun. You're never the biggest, toughest, fastest or smartest, so the wins are few and far between.
And while there are always exceptions, Sunday was not one of them. The Texans, or whoever the other football teams are in Texas, will always be the little brother to the Cowboys. Sometimes they get the win, and they usually give a good effort all the time, like on Sunday.
But in the end, the Cowboys did what they should do to Houston: Come out with the dub!
The game wasn't easy at all, and there were plenty of times when it looked as if the Cowboys might be staring at a 1-3 record because the offense couldn't get anything going and the defense was getting big-played up and down the field. And throw in the fact that the special teams was anything but special, and the Cowboys went into halftime not only down 10, but showing signs of once again finding new ways to give away games.
And then, all of a sudden, starting with KaVontae Turpin's kickoff return to open the third quarter, everything changed. The Cowboys got scorching hot on offense to score 28 points, and the defense, while still giving up untimely plays, found ways to get off the field, including on the final Hail Mary that might have been closer than it needed to be.
But as we found out last week in Brazil, close doesn't matter for crap. Getting close only makes it worse mentally, so who cares how close it was on the final play.
The goal is very simple: Keep them from scoring, and that's what happened.
Earlier in the week, I was genuinely surprised the Cowboys were underdogs by two or three points. I know it was a home game for Houston – I think – but still, I got the sense the Cowboys were ultimately the better team. As it turned out, it was probably handicapped right, considering it went down to the final play, which means Las Vegas had the two teams about equal, considering home teams generally get three points.
But Dallas was the better team. It might have taken a little longer to show it, but the Cowboys were able to be a little more of a complete team, running the ball into the end zone when needed and also showing they could sustain a final drive through the air.
And get this, how about the Cowboys being the more disciplined team? Houston had twice as many penalties (13 to 6) and penalty yards (90 to 47) as the Cowboys. And some of the penalties were huge, especially in the third quarter when Dallas nearly gave the ball back inside the 5-yard line, trailing by 10.
Hey, don't get me wrong, the Cowboys haven't exactly turned the corner here after four games. The defense continues to give up big plays and a lot of points. Do you realize they've allowed at least 20 points in all four games, and three of them have seen the team yield 28 or more.
But what did we ask from them all offseason? Just be better than last year and a little more complementary. Well, it's getting there. We're starting to see it.
Still can't get any turnovers, but the Cowboys at least got a couple of sacks – the first two since Week 1 – and found ways to get enough pressure to get off the field, especially in the second half.
With this offense, the Cowboys can always stay in the game if the defense can find a way to be competitive, and that's what they've been.
And with that, the offense will ALWAYS be in the game if teams continue to leave CeeDee Lamb in single coverage. Think what you want about George Pickens and the four games he's played so far, but teams have decided how they want to defend him, and right now Lamb is taking full advantage. It's not like they're going to double GP for some rookie, unproven player. But that's CDFL … and he was absolutely ballin' on the Texans in this game. I couldn't believe they chose not to change the coverage around, but it's fine. They just let one of the game's best receivers have one of the best games of his career.
All in all, it was a fun day. A lot more fun than last week. Just like the plane ride home will be more enjoyable. Actually, this flight back from Houston to Dallas is a lot like the Cowboys have been so far – up and down!
They're 2-2 and that's probably where they should be. I always say that if you're going to harp on the close losses and games you gave away – such as last week in Rio – then make sure to count the ones that could've easily gone the other way, too.
In the end, the Cowboys were able to put the Texans in their place … which will always be second in this state.
