Cowboys BREAKING: Jayron Kearse Injury in Pregame Warmups - VIDEO; 5 Keys vs. Texans
The Dallas Cowboys and the Houston Texans battle in a game that has polar opposite meanings for both. The 9-3 Cowboys are chasing a playoff spot and a potential NFC East title, while the 1-10-1 Texans are playing for nothing but pride.
With Dallas heavy favorites, many expect it to be a cakewalk for coach Mike McCarthy's team, but that might not be the case if the last two weeks have been anything to go by.
Chasing a 10th win, Dallas will be looking to keep the pressure on the Philadelphia Eagles, who occupy the top spot in the NFC East. But how does Dallas do it? Let's start with the inactives ... Jalen Tolbert, Chauncey Golston, Jabril Cox, Markquese Bell and Will Grier. ...
UPDATE: Jayron Kearse somehow got hurt during pregame warmups - maybe coming down awkwardly on his knee - and needed help to get back to locker room ... But has returned ... WATCH ...
Stay tuned ...
And let's get to doing these five things.
Create turnovers: We saw what coordinator Dan Quinn's defense could do in the fourth quarter of the 54-19 win over the Indianapolis Colts that resulted in 33 unanswered points.
The Cowboys took the ball away five times last Sunday after only getting four takeaways in the previous month. Fortunately for Dallas, giving the ball away has been a Texans special.
Texans coach Lovie Smith's offense has given the ball away at least once in all but two games. Since the Week 9 loss to the Eagles, the Texans have given the ball away multiple times in each game, with four coming last week against the Cleveland Browns.
If Quinn's unit is good at one thing, it's getting turnovers, and the Texans like giving it away.
Start fast: For the third consecutive game, the Cowboys are heavy favorites. However, many expected a blowout against the New York Giants and then the Colts. It was far from that early on.
The Giants led 13-7 at halftime, and the Colts were a two-point conversion away from leveling matters at 21-21 late in the third quarter. On both occasions, Dallas gave hope to teams that had no business being in the game late into the third quarter.
Against Houston, the Cowboys have to buck the trend. Scoring points early and getting a lead to squash any potential hope Houston has of a surprise victory.
Luckily for Dallas, Houston is not a good first-half team. In the last four games combined, the Texans have scored just eight points in the first half and have only scored 10 points or more three times in first halves this season.
Protect the weakened secondary: With Jourdan Lewis and now Anthony Brown gone for the season due to injuries (along with our monitoring of Kearse), Kelvin Joseph will likely be getting the start against the Texans. Even without Brandin Cooks, the Texans could look to pick on Joseph in just his third start for Quinn's unit.
But how do the Cowboys protect their second-year corner? By getting after Davis Mills. Dallas leads the league in sacks with 48, while Houston ranks eighth in sacks given up with 33.
The last thing Dallas wants is for Joseph to get his confidence drained by leaving him on an island in coverage. Protect their second-round pick from the 2021 NFL Draft by putting Mills on the ground.
Contain the rushing attack: This has been Job One in the last three weeks, with Dalvin Cook, Saquon Barkley and Jonathan Taylor capable of taking the game over on the ground. For the Texans, without their two most important receivers in Brandin Cooks and Nico Collins, establishing running back Dameon Pierce could shorten the game.
Statistically, the last three games do not warrant such focus on the Texans' running game, with totals of just 21, 36, and 82 rushing yards.
However, Pierce does have games of 131 and 139 rushing yards, along with three of 90-plus, so the threat is there if he is allowed to get going.
Dallas has done well to curtail three of the most dangerous running backs in the league.
Stuff the run often and early to put Houston behind the sticks and then go get the quarterback. Simple enough, isn't it?
No offensive turnovers: Something that has been creeping into Dak Prescott's game of late has been interceptions. Since his return from a thumb injury against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, Prescott has thrown an interception in every game but two.
He has thrown three in his last two games as he is moving from conservative quarterback to gunslinger. While the Cowboys have transformed into the league's highest-scoring offense with him at the helm, the turnovers are becoming concerning.
Dak has been fortunate that his turnovers have come against what some say are lesser opposition. But if he continues this trend against the Eagles on Christmas Eve or in the playoffs, Dallas could find itself in serious trouble.
Seven interceptions in seven games is not ideal, and McCarthy would not want another Prescott interception to give life to a Houston team wanting to upset one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
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