The Dallas Cowboys hoped Monday night would be the the night to get back in the win column but it was not even close in the end. Dallas lost their fifth game in a row and are now 0-5 at home. For a place the Cowboys once won 16 straight games in, AT&T Stadium is no longer a home-field advantage.
The Cowboys showed signs of life on defense and actually kept the game close for almost three quarters until the dam broke. That's been the story of the season. While the biggest people to blame not on the field are once again Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy, some players deserve blame for not stepping up when the game was still winnable.
3 Cowboys players to blame the most for the Texans loss
3. S Donovan Wilson
Donovan Wilson has not looked good all year and Monday night was no exception. He finished with five tackles and had one pass knock down, but his tackling once again looked poor. For a guy the Cowboys committed to with a new contract a few years back, he has not lived up to the money.
Wilson constantly took poor angles once again on Monday night and looked lost in the secondary. While a lot of that can be because of learning a new defense under Mike Zimmer, Wilson was highly thought of going into this season as a guy who would take the next step.
On the Texans first touchdown, Wilson played passively and by the time Joe Mixon was at the second level he just had to almost jog in for his first score. While Malik Hooker and Trevon Diggs had a shot at him too, Wilson did not seem to want to go make the pley.
Wilson's reputation in Dallas was built on hard hits and just being around the football to make plays. Right now he is clearly on the way to his worst season as a pro. His contract runs through 2025, so Dallas would have to make him a cap casualty cut if they want to move on. Markquese Bell was a standout player last year as a fill-in linebacker, but has rarely been in the lineup this season. While it could be he is struggling to learn Zimmer's defense as well, Bell arguably deserves more playing time than Wilson. At 3-7, this team is evaluating talent for next season.
2. OT Tyler Guyton
Tyler Guyton and the rest of the offensive line had a rough night protecting Cooper Rush yet again. Worse, Guyton pulled a "Terence Steele" from last week only this time it could have more easily been prevented. His big mistake was a microcosm of how poor the offensive line has played all season.
Down 20-10 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were still within striking distance of making this a game. On a second and six, Rush was hit and fumbled the ball but fortunately it ended up in Guyton's hands. However, instead of going, taking what might have been a five-yard loss and having third down coming up, he tried to run through Texan defenders with the ball.
That obviously did not work, he fumbled it and the Texans ran it back for a touchdown. The score all but sealed the win for Houston. Guyton should have just gone down and made sure he had possession of the ball instead of trying to do something like he did.
Even if the ball stayed with Dallas, the outcome might not have changed, but at that point the team needed every possession on offense to try to get points. Doing things like that will not only cost a team games but players their starting spots. While Guyton is a rookie, that was a mistake he should have known going back to his early days of playing football.
While that was just one play, Guyton also needs to share some of the blame for not protecting Rush's blindside well for a good part of the second half including that play. The former Sooner has a lot of growing up to do, but if he cannot learn quickly, Dallas will be looking for replacements sooner rather than later based on what shape this franchise is in. No one's job is safe.
1. QB Cooper Rush
Cooper Rush is a backup quarterback for the simplest reason: he is not good enough to be a starter. Rush might have gone 5-1 in 2022 when Dak Prescott missed time with a thumb injury, but that Cowboys team was much better. In two starts replacing Prescott, Rush has looked like a quarterback who may be out the league after his time in Dallas.
Rush played much better than last week against the Eagles, throwing for over 300 yards compared to 45 last week, but still misfired a lot. He also had another bobbled snap from Cooper Beebe but recovered it. On the team's second possession he threw a terrible interception after Malik Hooker got one off C.J. Stroud. The Cowboys' defense still has their struggles but they have been forcing a few more turnovers. Those possessions have to count when this offense goes back out there.
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The interception was also just another indication of how much Rush and CeeDee Lamb are not on the same page. That happened more than once with different receivers on Monday night. While it is hard for Lamb to adjust to a new quarterback as well as this offense, Rush has to be accurate on those throws if he is leading this team.
He seemed to find his footing after throwing a touchdown that KaVontae Turpin caught in stride and ran all the way for the score, but that was the only highlight of the night for this group. After that, Rush could not put together another drive. He would have another opporunity late in the third quarter.
Dallas went for it on fourth down trailing 20-10 needing a touchdown to give themselves a chance to win. Rush had time to make his read but threw a ball around the goal line just out of the reach of newly acquired receiver Jonathan Mingo. Mingo tried to go up and sang it with one hand, but could not.
The incompletion was another golden opportunity missed and Rush clearly missed on that throw. A score there would have put Dallas in position to have a chance to win it. It also did not help that they got that chance because of a penalty on Houston that gave them a first down after they kicked a field goal, but got to extend the drive. Instead they walked away with no points.
McCarthy seems content right now with Rush as the starter for the rest of the year, but if this continues it would be worth it to put in Trey Lance. Rush does not deserve all the blame for the loss, but he deserves the most. No matter who the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is, expectations will always be high. Rush needs to play better if he hopes to lead the Cowboys to another win this season.