Cowboys-Texans preview: What to watch for in the ‘battle of Texas’

BY GAVIN PATRICK 

Co-Managing Editor/Sports Editor 

The Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans are squaring off on Sunday for the first time since 2024, a battle of interstate rivals who both have had disappointing starts to the 2026 season. 

Dallas leads the all-time series 4-3, and three of the last four matchups have been decided by four points or less.   

The Texans are looking to avoid a catastrophic 0-4 start, a mark they haven’t fallen to since Bill O’Brien’s downfall in 2020; only one team has ever made the playoffs after dropping their first four. And the Cowboys are looking to get back to .500 after losing by the skin of their teeth last week in Brazil to the Baltimore Ravens. 

What will decide the matchup?  

• Dak Prescott vs. Houston pass rush 

Despite being the longest tenured starter in the league, Sunday will be the first time Dak Prescott has played Houston since 2022, which means it’ll be the first time he’ll face their vaulted pass rush. 

Historically, Prescott has attempted to mitigate good rushes with quick passes, and largely, it’s been a winning formula. However, the way teams have burned the Texans this season has been over the top. 

Houston has given up an uncharacteristic number of explosive plays (rushes over 10 yards, passes over 20 yards) through three weeks. It doesn’t help that they’ve gone against two of the best quarterbacks in football, Josh Allen and Joe Burrow, but Prescott is about to be added to that list. 

The Cowboys offense has been more methodical than explosive so far this season, but they’re plenty capable of the latter. If Dallas can buy time with chips and heavy protection schemes against edges Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter, look for that trend to continue. 

• Nico Collins vs. Dallas secondary 

Houston’s top receiver Nico Collins is back after missing the last two games with a hamstring injury. Collins can likely have success anywhere on the field against this Cowboys defense, but look for the Texans to put him in the slot so he can work the middle of the field against the Cowboys’ paper-thin safeties. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Dallas matches Collins with Caleb Downs, who’s been quiet so far this season after being hyped as potential rookie of the year material.  

While starting safety Jalen Thompson landed on injured reserve this week, the Cowboys did add some help to the secondary by trading two future picks for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who had been holding out on the Pittsburgh Steelers over a contract dispute.  

Porter will play on Sunday and will be a welcome addition opposite Daron Bland. If new defensive coordinator Christian Parker can get anything turned around on the Boys’ 30th ranked unit, stopping Collins will be the first order of business on an otherwise struggling Houston offense. 

• Game management  

Both teams lost in heartbreaking fashion last week, and late-game coaching blunders on both sides were a big reason why. 

For Dallas, their offense had the ball on the Ravens’ two-yard line, trailing 31-28, with 23 seconds left and three shots at the end zone. They lost in regulation. 

On 3rd & goal, with the team out of timeouts and 14 seconds remaining, head coach Brian Schottenheimer wanted to leave time for a tying field goal. Prescott took a two-step drop, looked at receiver George Pickens and promptly threw the ball into the stands. He was too quick to see Pickens breaking wide open as soon as he decided to settle for three. Schottenheimer admitted after the game that he “over-coached” Prescott on the throw. 

That left the Ravens with seven seconds on the other end, and quarterback Lamar Jackson burned the Dallas defense with a deep throw down the middle to Zay Flowers, as a defender decided to run with the shallow route, leaving Flowers wide open deep. The Ravens wound up victorious   because the Cowboys were out of position—and in the wrong headspace. 

The Texans crumbled against the Indianapolis Colts in a simpler way. With Houston clinging to a 17-16 lead with 1:11 remaining, the Colts were quickly approaching field goal range with all three timeouts. They ran the ball for five yards, obviously trying to bleed clock. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans decided not to take a timeout, and the clock ran all the way down to 29 seconds before he finally did to reposition his defense.  

Indy gained four more yards and made the field goal, leaving just 11 seconds for Houston’s stagnant offense to respond. Ryans also admitted after the game that he made a critical mistake.  

Cowboys-Texans is expected to be a close one again. (Houston is favored by three.) These games are won on the margins, and whichever coach recovers better from their game management woes could very well be the victor.