Dallas Cowboys vs Houston Texans: Know Thy Enemy
What We’ve Seen from Texans and Possible Offensive Gameplan Against Cowboys
Points Per Game: 15.7
Passing Yards Per Game: 191.4
Rushing Yards Per Game: 87.9
Total Yards Per Game: 279.3
Third Down Conversion Percentage: 26.5%
Red Zone Conversion Percentage: 42.4%
Texans Offensive Strategy vs Cowboys
The unfortunate fact for this Houston Texans offense is that they are going up against arguably one of the best defensive fronts in the NFL, and their offensive line has had issues protecting the quarterback, giving up 33 sacks on the season.
That calculates out to the opposing team generating pressure on 20.45% of their quarterback dropbacks. To counter this, the Texans try to deploy a run-first offense, with Dameon Pierce and Rex Burkhead ready to help take pressure off their offensive line and quarterbacks.
Struggling offense lets down defense in Texans' loss to Browns https://t.co/geizgYksxF
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) December 5, 2022
Look for the Texans to try and do this again against Dallas in order to try and keep the Cowboys’ pass rush at bay.
It will be tough depending on the personnel they will have available in this game, with Brandin Cooks and Burkhead both dealing with injuries and starting center Justin Britt’s status up in the air right now. The Cowboys do still have issues stopping the run at times, so we shall see.
Cowboys Defensive Strategy vs Texans
For the Cowboys on defense, they are going to need to make sure that they are able to stop the run. More importantly, though, they must make sure they are doing a better job of defending the middle of the football field against the Texans.
Neither quarterback for the Texans really scares you with their arm strength, so instead they typically target the middle of the football field, going off the play-action set up by their running game. Wide receivers Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, along with tight end Jordan Akins, are good at finding soft spots in zone coverage, allowing them to dink and dunk down the field.
If the Cowboys really want to shut down this Texans offense, they are going to need to take away those easy throws for these quarterbacks. Do that, and the Dallas pass rush with Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence will dominate this game from start to finish.