Cowboys vs Texans Week 14: history, key players, projection

Back at it again inside AT&T Stadium, and hosting another AFC South opponent. What could go right?! The Dallas Cowboys are entering Week 14 with a 9-3 record, confidence, an inside track to the playoffs, and a chance to stack another win in the win column.

The ‘Boys utterly dismantled the Colts last week to the tune of 54-19. The defense forced turnovers at will, Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard ran like wild horses, Dak Prescott casually threw a few touchdown passes to Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb, and the Cowboys put the league on notice that they are for real Super Bowl contenders.

The Texas currently sit at 1-10-1 and are playing (technically) for the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, when they will get their swing at the top prospect of their choice. They enter Dallas with a bad taste in their mouth after they lost to the Browns and disgraced quarterback (and human) Deshaun Watson.

This matchup appears rather lopsided on paper and in Vegas, but as they say, the game isn’t played on paper. Here is the weekly outlook of the matchup history, some key players to watch for, and a prediction on how this game will shake out when it’s all said and done.

Cowboys vs Texans: History, key matchups, and prediction

Cowboys vs Texans: Matchup History

All-time Record: 3-2 in favor of the Dallas Cowboys

Most recent result: Houston Texans 19, Dallas Cowboys 16 in overtime on October 7, 2018

The Texans were only founded in 1999, which explains how these teams have met just five times in history. Oddly enough, the Cowboys do not hold the type of lead on the Texans that they do against most teams in the NFL due to their sustained success.

A lesser known fact is that the Governor’s Cup is on the line in this one. It is an intrastate rivalry trophy the Cowboys and Texans play for every time they link up. The game can either be regular season or preseason and began back in 1967 (when the Oilers were involved). It has been played every year since 2013, minus 2017 due to Hurricane Harvey and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A great memory for Cowboys fans comes in the form of Tony Romo spinning J.J. Watt into the ground back in 2014. Watt thought he had a clean shot on Romo, only to be shrugged off like a child, as the QB went on to unleash a 43-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Williams.