10 Texans Tidbits: What Led to Houston's Week 4 Collapse vs. Cowboys

The Houston Texans are now one of five teams in the NFL sitting with a brutal 0-4 record after the events of their Week 4 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, 30-34.

While the Texans' offense was able to show some much-needed signs of life, it was a combination of a rockstar performance from the Cowboys, and a lackluster job by Houston's defense and their coaching staff that now forces them into an even steeper back to .500 over the coming weeks.

Let's break down the Texans' Week 4 disappointment vs. the Cowboys in full with our weekly edition of 10 Texans Tidbits; sorting out a handful of stats and results that led to this weekend ending up as it did.

Texans' Secondary Had No Answer for CeeDee Lamb

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ceedee Lamb (88) reacts after a reception during the game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest story of the day in Houston this weekend was just how dominant Cowboys wideout CeeDee Lamb ended up being, who had a whopping 17 receptions for 189 yards and a game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter.

The Texans' defensive game plan was a bit of a mess. Even with the talent they have in their secondary with corners like Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter, and even in their back-end at safety, this was the last team you'd expect to allow a career day for Lamb. Yet, Houston's defense fell victim to much of the same explosive chunk plays that they saw in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills.

According to NFL Pro, Lamb was targeted on 21 of 45 routes in Week 4, the most targets by any receiver to have run 45 or fewer routes in a game since 2016.

The Run Game Continues to Seriously Struggle

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz (86) pitches to running back David Montgomery (32) against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It was yet another week of the Texans hoping that their struggling run game could find some traction in terms of potency and efficiency, yet ultimately fell short in what was an uninspiring performance on the ground.

David Montgomery had 10 carries for 24 yards, while Woody Marks complemented him with a little less than 50% of the offensive snaps, recording six carries for 22 yards.

So the Texans' running backs combined for less than three yards per carry again, run blocking was still subpar, and Houston's play design in the run hasn't been the most stellar as well; multiple jumbo packages, more futile runs up the middle, etc. Really, it looks like it hasn't taken any steps forward from how their results looked in 2025.

Texans' Defense Saw Little Success Blitzing

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) attempts a pass during the game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texans aren't known to be the most blitz-heavy defense in the NFL by any means. Through their first four games of the season, Houston ranks among the bottom-five in the league for blitz rate (20.8%).

However, in the snaps where the Texans did want to blitz this Cowboys offense, it was Dallas and Dak Prescott who wound up dissecting that coverage extremely well. Prescott completed five of seven passes for 116 yards against the blitz, averaged 16.6 yards per attempt––his most in a game since Week 4 of 2024 against the Giants.

So if the Texans' pressure and success in the blitz were underwhelming, and their secondary had even more flaws on their end due to CeeDee Lamb's day, putting two and two together will tell you this one can be chalked up as a defensive calamity for Houston.

Where Are the Texans' Turnovers?

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans safety Calen Bullock (2) prepares to tackle Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (88) during the second half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This weekend marked the third game of the season for the Texans, where their defense failed to come away with a single turnover across the day. No interceptions. No fumble recoveries. Zero turnovers, which happened on just two occasions for Houston last season.

Sure, the Texans' defense doesn't have to generate a whole bunch of takeaways to win games. Yet, not only with the talent Houston's defense has, but also when factoring in just how well C.J. Stroud has controlled the football on the other side of the ball (zero turnovers in three straight games), getting an edge in the turnover battle could be a huge help for their aspired success.

Where Are the Texans' Tight Ends?

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz (86) runs onto the field before the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After the Texans entered this season with five tight ends as a part of their 53-man roster, many expected offensive coordinator Nick Caley and this scoring attack to lean on those 12, 13 personnel packages more, and get their tight ends more looks compared to their limitations at the position in 2025.

However, now approaching a quarter of the way through the new season, it seems as if the Texans are doing their best to increasingly take their tight ends out of the game plan.

Dalton Schultz was a non-factor yet again after his 140-yard day from Week 2. No other tight end landed over 40% of the offensive snaps, and perhaps most surprisingly, second-round rookie Marlin Klein was a healthy scratch. What is going on here?

Stroud and Collins Pick Up Where They Left Off

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Nico Collins (12) reacts with quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) after catching a touchdown pass against the Dallas Cowboys during the first half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On a more positive note, the Texans' passing game–– particularly the connection between Stroud and Nico Collins–– really shined in this one more than we've seen throughout an otherwise gloomy season thus far.

Collins––in his first game returning from a two-game hamstring injury absence––led Texans receivers in targets (8), receptions (7), receiving yards (118), and receiving touchdowns (2) against the Cowboys. If Collins were to keep up his current pace of production for the rest of the season, he'd finish the year with a career-high in both receptions and yards by far.

We can expect the Texans' star wideout to come back down to earth after a double-touchdown performance over Dallas, yet having him back in the fold clearly gave a much-needed lift for an offense severely struggling in Weeks 2 and 3.

The Impact Joey Porter Jr. Had for Dallas

Jul 29, 2026; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (24) laughs on the sideline while watching a practice session at Saint Vincent College. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texans got to see newest Cowboys cornerback Joey Porter Jr. on the field for his official debut with the team. And even while he was limited in terms of his snaps for most of the day, he performed pretty well in the reps he got.

Porter Jr. played 24 of 52 defensive snaps against the Texans (46.2% of the snaps), including 19 snaps in coverage without allowing a single reception on just one target faced. He matched up with Nico Collins five times and was not targeted once.

Kamari Lassiter's Continued Lapses Need Attention

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (3) reacts after a play during the game against the Dallas Cowboys at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This is now the second week of the Texans' season where Pro Bowl cornerback Kamari Lassiter has looked to be the weak link in a disappointing secondary performance.

Against the Cowboys, Lassiter allowed eight receptions for 136 yards on 11 targets; all marking the highest numbers he's seen for each since kicking off his third year pro.

Perhaps it's an individual concern for Lassiter. Maybe it's a message that the Texans' secondary needs to play to their star corners' strengths a bit more by playing more press coverage. Regardless, something's got to give for Lassiter to return to the high-end level he was in 2025, and for Houston's pass defense to turn around as a whole.

Jaylin Noel Shows He Deserves More Targets

Sep 20, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel (13) runs onto the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After many were eager for 2025 third-round wideout Jaylin Noel to get on the field more after a limited first three games of the season, Noel had the second-highest snap count among Texans receivers this weekend, where he was able to turn in an eye-catching stat line.

Noel turned in his three targets for three receptions and a career-high 85 yards, which largely came off of the Texans' biggest offensive play of the day, a 52-yard catch-and-run for a 24-year-old.

With the quickness and explosiveness that Noel can clearly inject into this offense, the Texans would be foolish not to give their second-year wideout a few more looks moving forward in hopes he can be a consistent complement to Collins.

Where the Texans Go From Here

Oct 4, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans on the sidelines against the Dallas Cowboys during the second quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Texans now find themselves at a gloomy 0-4, a spot that only one team has made the playoffs in NFL history after an 0-4 start: the 1992 San Diego Chargers.

And the Texans do have a bit of reason to believe they can make some history. It was just last season when Houston became the first team in the 2020s to come back from an 0-3 start to make the postseason, and now they find themselves in a similar situation.

For Houston to make that surge up the standings again, though, it'll rely upon them taking advantage of their next slate of games before the bye. The Texans have three meetings to go until that Week 8 bye, coming against the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Giants.

The hope would be for a 3-0 run here, but that's clearly much easier said than done.

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