FRISCO, Texas – It wasn't always pretty, but a strong second half from the Cowboys has them at 2-2 after a 34-30 win on the road against the Texans.
Dallas' offense posted 28 points in the second half, and also had the ball for 18 minutes and 21 seconds in the final two quarters to limit Houston's offensive opportunities.
When the Texans offense did have their chances, they capitalized on some, especially through the air with 347 passing yards and two touchdowns from C.J. Stroud. The Cowboys defense was timely with their stops, however, as they held the Texans to 3 of 10 on third down and just 62 yards rushing.
Let's take a look back at some of the film from Sunday's win:
Cowboys front seven showed up against the run
Coming into the game, the Texans had struggled to run the football. David Montgomery's 60 yards rushing in the opener was the highest rushing total by a Texans player this season. On Sunday, the Cowboys held the Texans as a whole to 62 yards, and Montgomery to just 24 yards.
Dallas invested in their defensive line, and front seven in general, to make plays like this. The defense as a whole still needs to improve, as the Texans scored on a passing touchdown the play after this, but stopping the run is a great starting point to build on. In this instance, Jaishawn Barham gets the play started by flying through the B gap before the tight end can get to him.
Sure, the tight end does end up taking Barham out of the play, but Montgomery was forced to spin off of him, which gave Kenny Clark and Quinnen Williams more time to get into the backfield and get their hands on Montgomery before he could try and make a move, which ultimately resulted in a play where the was no gain.
A solid debut for Joey Porter Jr.
In his debut with the Cowboys, Joey Porter Jr. played just 24 defensive snaps, 19 of which were in coverage. He was targeted just one time and did not allow a reception. It was a small sample size, but you got an idea of what Porter can do for this defense.
One of those things is being able to carry receivers over the middle of the field, like he does here on one of his five matchups against Texans WR Nico Collins. With his long strides and 34-inch arms, he's able to not just cover a lot of ground but create smaller throwing windows for quarterbacks to try and fit passes into.
That's exactly what happens here with C.J. Stroud as he rolls right, with Porter staying in Collins' hip pocket over the middle of the field the entire way and eliminating any possible throw for Stroud to make. One thing that has bitten Porter a bit in the past is penalties, so he'll need to improve there in making sure there aren't many in Dallas, but through one game, it was a solid start for Dallas' newest addition in the secondary.
George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb continue to open up opportunities for one another
It gets talked about a lot, but it's because it just continues to happen at such a high level that you can't go without noticing it. Of course, CeeDee Lamb's 17 reception, 189-yard performance against the Texans was a special one. And it's one that, alongside Lamb's incredible individual ability, was amplified by the threat of George Pickens being able to take the top off the defense.
This was one of the plays that really stood out. Lined up on opposite sides of the field, Kamari Lassiter immediately goes deep with Pickens as he takes his route vertical. The play is over when the safety deep down the field flips his hips towards Pickens. Why? Because Lamb is coming over the middle.
And he's wide open, which led to a 30-yard gain to get the Dallas offense down to first and goal from the eight. One play later, Javonte Williams punched it in for his first of three rushing touchdowns on the day, and got the scoring started for the Cowboys offense in the second half.
