(Editor's Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in 'Mailbag' presented by Miller Lite.)
Living in Dallas, I want to hate the Houston Texans, but I don't really have feelings for them one way or the other. Do you think we'll ever see a true in-state rivalry between the two teams? Could the NFL use the odd 17th game to have the Cowboys play the Texans every year? – Mark Peterson/*Dallas*, TX
Patrik: For me, the closest in-state rivalry that has ever existed was when the Oilers were in Houston. After they departed for Nashville and became the Titans (while oddly looking for ways to look like the Oilers whenever they can), that ended any semblance of it. The Texans hate the Cowboys in much the same way a little brother hates their big brother for having accomplished more, which brings me to my other point: have the Texans done anything that makes this a rivalry?
They have no championships, are 7-9 in the playoffs, have 10 losing seasons in their 24-year history, and the Cowboys are 4-3 against them (highlighted by Tony Romo putting JJ Watt in the spin cycle). This isn't to take anything away from the Texans as a franchise, but wouldn't their actual rivals be teams with the same level of success and lack thereof? As you said, nothing about playing the Texans hits the "rivalry" nerve for you, and the same is true of most, if not every, Cowboys fan.
Nick: Yes, this is a "rivalry" that definitely started and has continued from the Houston side of things. Dallas really doesn't see Houston as a threat or rival to them but it's not the feeling from the other side.
Having lived in Dallas for over 30 years, I can tell you it's pretty much the same feeling towards Fort Worth as well. It's more of a "city" thing and people in Dallas don't seem to get into that.
Now, as for the actual football teams, it's not a big rivalry at all but I agree with you about making games like this on the schedule an annual thing. Maybe when it gets to an 18-game schedule, I've always thought every team should have an NFC-AFC counterpart that you play every year, and maybe twice a year when the schedule lines up.
Geographically makes the most sense for a lot of teams. The Cowboys-Texans, Jets-Giants, Rams-Chargers, Dolphins-Bucs, Jaguars-Falcons, Saints-Titans, Raiders-Cardinals, Ravens-Commanders, Bills-Lions ..... I means, that's nearly half the league right there. That's something I've always wanted the NFL to do because not only does it make sense financially in terms of travel, but it would likely spark up even more local interest within the areas that have multiple fan bases.
As for this game, I think Cowboys fans want to win because they're 1-2 and can't fall too much further behind. Houston fans should want to win because the team is 0-3 but it definitely would make it sweeter for them, knowing they'd have the same record as Dallas.
Mailbag
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