HOUSTON, Texas – The Houston Texans beat the Dallas Cowboys in their final preseason matchup of the 2018 season. The Cowboys went 0-4 in the preseason, after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Cardinals, not much changed in tonight’s game.
In the first half, Brett Maher started things off with a 57-yard field goal and things went downhill for the Cowboys from there. The second and third teams on offense struggled to move the ball and convert on third downs. Cooper Rush was 14 for 25 with 83 yards, 0 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. He finished with a 29.3 passer rating. The run game could not get going through the Texans’ D-Line. Bo Scarbrough had 4 carries for 17 yards and a 4.2 average. Darius Jackson had 5 carries for one yard and a 0.2 average. Both of those guys are fighting for the third running back spot behind Rod Smith, but have not been able to gain force behind the ball and find holes.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys had some impactful plays as Charles Tapper padded down a pass and assisted Jihad Ward on a sack. Ward had a big second quarter with back-to-back quarterback pressures, and Daniel Ross had a sack on Brandon Weeden and continued to dominate the Cowboys’ pass rush.
During the second half, the Cowboys were able to move the ball down the field but failed to make it on the scoreboard after going for it on fourth down and failing to make it across the yard line. Mike White was 13 of 21 for 118 yards. The highlights were Brett Maher’s second kick through the uprights for a 41-yard field goal, and Dorance Armstrong’s penetration in the defensive line. Armstrong had 4 tackles and a sack. He continued to impress during camp on one-on-one pass protection drills. Lance Lenoir led in receiving yards with 9 receptions, for 69 yards, and a 7.7 average. Lenoir did not make the final cut last year with the Cowboys and has had a solid training camp in the receiving core reps. He did not have the smoothest game tonight as a punt returner but has potential as a receiver. He has fight and spunk on the field!
Many players made a case for themselves to earn a jersey with a star as the final 53-man roster is released on Saturday!
