Things look a little different than the last time Texas' two NFL teams clashed. The last time the Houston Texas (6-4) made the short trip to Arlington, they had just one win and were on their way to the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys (3-6) were on their way to another 12-win season and building towards the playoff picture again.
This time, the roles have reversed.
The Texans are leading the way in the AFC South while the Cowboys are quickly seeing their playoff hopes slip away. Meaning there are some vast differences for this matchup than those in years past.
Here are 10 more notable 'big facts' to remember ahead of Monday's 7:15pm CT kickoff on ESPN.
Here are 10 more notable 'big facts' to remember ahead of Monday's 7:15 CT kickoff on ESPN.
Providing the Pressure
Dallas tallied five sacks in the loss to Philadelphia Sunday, all coming in the first half. That marks the 13th game with at least five sacks defensively over the last five seasons. Only the Eagles have more with 16 games over the same time span. This was the only instance where Dallas also lost the game.
Rock Bottom on Offense?
During the Sunday loss to Philadelphia, the Cowboys set or tied a new season low in six major categories. They had a season-worst in points scored (6), total yards (146), pass yards (49), and first downs (11). While also tying a season-low in both touchdowns (0), and giveaways (5).
Rush in Manning Company
Cooper Rush finished with just 45 passing yards on 23 attempts in Week 10. That marks the fewest by a player with at least 20 pass attempts in a game since Peyton Manning had 35 yards on 20 attempts for the Denver Broncos in Week 10 of 2015. Oddly enough, Manning and the Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl that year.
Terrific Turpin
One of the bright spots this season has been the elite return-ability of KaVontae Turpin. He currently ranks second in the NFL for return yards (527) behind only Carolina's Raheem Blackshear. Turpin has pieced together three games with at least 80 kick-return yards, including this past Sunday against Philadelphia. He only had one such game in his previous two campaigns.
Not the First Time for Philly
The Eagles have improved to 2-0 against the NFC East this season, including a 28-3 win over the Giants in Week 7. Just like they did against Dallas, Philadelphia held New York to under 150 total yards at 119. That's the first time they have tallied more than one such game since 1992 and the first time within their same division during the Super Bowl Era.
(Still) Don't Throw it at Diggs
Trevon Diggs secured another interception against the Eagles in the endzone this past Sunday. Despite it being his first since Week 1, he still leads the NFL with 17 picks since the beginning of the 2021 season. It was also the first redzone takeaway for the defense since Week 5 of 2023 against San Francisco when Jourdan Lewis forced and recovered a fumble against the 49ers.
Protecting Home Field, But Not the Ball
Dallas has never lost to the Texans at home in their three total meetings. However, the two games played since the opening of AT&T Stadium have included three Cowboys turnovers and a Dallas win despite them. It took overtime for the Cowboys to overcome three giveaways against the Texans in 2014, then 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for Dallas to win their 2022 meeting.
Found Something on the Ground?
Over the last two weeks, Dallas has averaged 5.2 yards per carry, third most in the NFL over that time span. Rico Dowdle has led the way with 5.3 yards per carry over the last two games to go along with his 4.5 mark for the season. A number that is better than his Houston counterpart this week in Joe Mixon (4.3).
Takeaway Texans
The Texans recorded five interceptions of Jared Goff on Sunday Night Football in Week 10. They became just the fifth team to have five interceptions in a game as a defense since 2018 but are the first to do so in a losing effort. The Ravens (2023 at SF), Saints (2021 at CAR), Panthers (2019 vs. TB), and Jets (2018 at DET) all won their games by multiple scores over that time span.
Lone Star Representation
This season there are 13 active Texas-natives will represent their teams and state. Dallas has seven players with their hometowns officially listed in Texas with CeeDee Lamb, DeMarvion Overshown, Tyler Smith, Tyler Guyton, Deuce Vaughn, and Buddy Johnson. Houston has six with Jalen Pitre, Kris Boyd, Jerry Hughes, Danielle Hunter, Steven Sims, and Dylan Horton.
