David Moore: 5 final thoughts on Cowboys-Texans: A reversal of fortune and shades of San Francisco

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By David Moore | Dallas Morning News (TNS)

DALLAS — The Cowboys have had 64 years to sink their roots into the state of Texas.

The Texans can’t compete on that front. Their inaugural game took place 22 years ago.

Houston’s edge at the moment is on the field. The Texans carry a 6-4 record into Monday night’s game. The Cowboys are 3-6 and stagger into AT&T Stadium with a four-game losing streak.

The prestigious Governor’s Cup — which isn’t all that prestigious since it’s been missing for at least two years and no search parties or investigations have been launched to discover its whereabouts — is on the line.

“It’s a battle of Texas,’’ Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown said. “I know they’re pretty new to the league and we can go back all the way … but them having a season they’re having, a team thinking they run the state.

“Even though it’s a down year for us, we still run the state of Texas. We’ve got to go out there with that pride, and that mindset that this is still our state and we’re still the big brothers.’’

We’re about to find out.

Reversal of fortune

Mike McCarthy has been in the league for a minute.

The Cowboys head coach can’t recall ever being part of a team that ran off 16 consecutive home victories over a two-season stretch only to follow that up by starting a season 0-4 the way this group has done.

“To go two years the way we did and then to start this year the way we have, it’s as dramatic as anything I’ve seen in my time in this league,’’ McCarthy said.

It goes beyond the calendar turning to November with the Cowboys still in search of their first victory at AT&T Stadium. Dallas has logged 240 minutes at home this season.

The Cowboys have led for just two minutes and 15 seconds of that total.

Suggestion: Dallas should try to take an early lead against Houston to see how it feels.

“It definitely helps,’’ McCarthy said of an early lead. “It gets the home crowd in the game, and we all recognize, too, that the visiting crowd is always prominent at our stadium because everyone loves to come to Dallas for the game.

“I think it definitely helps in any game, but I think it would be beneficial for us to do that Monday night.’’

Shades of San Francisco

DeMeco Ryans is Houston’s head coach. Before that, he spent six years as a defensive coach in San Francisco, the final two as coordinator.

It shows.

“Yeah, you see a lot of the same style,’’ Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush said of the Texans defense. “They’re a fast, physical defense that flies around. They got dudes at every level of the defense.

“That’s kind of his imprint and you see some of the same kind of things as well. That defense has been around for a while, and it’s always been productive.’’

McCarthy said what Houston does defensively compares schematically and in terms of player profile to those teams in San Francisco.

“I see it as very similar to the 2022 season, as I recall the competition of those games,’’ McCarthy said. “But you know we’re a little different. I mean this team is different.

“So you play to your matchups like you do every game.’’

First impression

Tyler Guyton was taken by the Cowboys late in the first round of the April draft. Seven offensive tackles were taken before him.

His performance reflects that ranking.

Guyton hasn’t been bad. But it hasn’t exactly been a smooth transition from being a right tackle at Oklahoma to a left tackle with the Cowboys. He’s been inconsistent, and his nine penalties ties him for the fourth most in the NFL.

“Rookie year,’’ Guyton said when asked to assess his performance. “It’s a rookie season.

“So I think it’s going exactly how a rookie season goes. There are going to be ups and downs, ebbs and flows. It’s about staying focused.’’

And staying on the field. Guyton’s development has been slowed this season by injuries. He’s missed two games this season and part of another after missing large chunks of training camp. He’s wearing a sling at the moment for a shoulder injury but said it doesn’t limit him much.

“It’s always frustrating being injured,’’ Guyton said. “It’s not fun.

“But I think it’s all about prehab instead rehab so you don’t get in those situations to begin with.’’

Fast and furious

The Texans are the next opponent on the Cowboys’ schedule.

But the coaching staff can’t keep it to that.

The game against Houston begins a stretch where the Cowboys play three games in 11 days. The players have to take it one game at a time, but the coaches don’t have that luxury.

Preparation for Washington, the opponent the Cowboys face six days after Monday night’s game against the Texans, began on Friday. That routine accelerates even more when you factor in that the New York Giants visit on Thanksgiving, just four days after the Cowboys are on the road against the Commanders.

“We’ve got to be looking ahead before we play Washington to make sure we’re on top of the Giants,’’ McCarthy said. “Just a lot of preplanning, which I assume everyone does.’’

The setting sun

Receiver CeeDee Lamb won’t have to worry about losing a potential touchdown reception in the sun this game.

Why?

The sun will set nearly two hours before the Cowboys and Texans kick off.

The ire over Jerry Jones’ refusal to use curtains for afternoon games at AT&T Stadium has flared again in recent days. While it won’t be a factor in this game, it will rear its solar head again on Thanksgiving.

How do the Cowboys coaches account for the sun? They have still photos from their midafternoon starts through the years to show where the sun will be when a team is looking into the west end zone over the course of the afternoon. Remember, it varies depending whether the game kicks off in standard time or during daylight saving time.

The bottom line: The sun is worse in the late second and early third quarter at certain times of the year and in the fourth in others. That determines what the Cowboys do if they win the flip.

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