By Alex Al-Kazzaz
The Dallas Cowboys are hosting their in-state rivals in Arlington. With the Houston Texans visiting, for Dallas, it's more than getting their tenth win of the season. Dallas is determined to reclaim the Governor's Cup. The rivalry between Dallas and Houston goes back to 1965 from when the Houston team was the Oilers. In a traditional and historical Texas football showdown, the Cowboys are looking defend their home turf. Most of all, it's about winning.
Dallas is coming off a dominant 54-19 win over Indianapolis. As far as the Texans go, their only win this season was back in October. Dallas is on a three-game winning streak and their looking to clinch a spot in the playoffs. While Dallas' chances of winning the division are less than 30 percent, a playoff spot is what matters more at this point. And Dallas knows that even though they face a Texans team with a 1-10-1 record, it's not going to be a walk in the park.
Last week, the running game was effective for Dallas. Considering Houston's running game is one of the worst in the league, it's obvious that Dallas ought to be committed to the running game. Overall, a balanced game with a functionable running and passing game is needed. Dallas needs to be weary of anything because as bad as Houston is, any offensive miscue by Dallas could be very costly and brutally affect the momentum of the game. Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott better be ready to carry quite a load on the running game.
Houston's running game could be trouble for Dallas. Although Dallas' rushing defense managed to contain both Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor in the past two weeks, the question is whether or not they can keep the opposing running game stuffed against Houston. The Texans are without Brandon Cook in this game which ought to be a big break for the Dallas secondary. Regardless, Dallas defense needs to put up positive results; force turnovers, sack the quarterback, make stops, and avoid penalties.
Comments