7 Winners and 3 Losers from Dallas Cowboys’ much-needed win over the Houston Texans in Week 4
The Dallas Cowboys had a lot of winners emerging from the victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday.
The Dallas Cowboys got a much-needed win over the Houston Texans in a 34-30 shootout. As we do every week right after the game, it’s time to dive into the winners and losers from the game, with more in-depth analysis to come later on.
Winner: WR CeeDee Lamb
No wide receiver is playing better than Lamb in the NFL right now. His 17-catch, 189-yard performance was another reminder of it. Lamb was unstoppable in the second half as the Cowboys offense came back to life, scoring the game-winning touchdown with under one minute on the clock. He could have had more had Dak Prescott seen him wide open.
Winner: QB Dak Prescott
Despite leaving that TD on the field and struggling to find rhytm in the first half, Prescott was on absolute fire in the second half. He made difficult throws to Lamb and George Pickens. Just look at his splits:
- Third quarter: 8-of-9, 127 yards, 118.8 rating
- Fourth quarter: 12-of-16, 121 yards, 1 touchdown, 116.9 rating
He needed to show up and he did against one of the NFL’s finest defenses.
Loser: CB DaRon Bland
The Cowboys can’t trust Bland in coverage one-on-one. It was a long day for No. 26, who gave up big plays against just about every Texans receiver. He gave up two against Nico Collins (for 25 yards and a touchdown), two against Kayshon Boutte (for 27 yards), and another to Jaylin Noel (for 74 yards), via Sumer Sports.
Winner: CB Joey Porter Jr.
Porter Jr. did not play the whole game, as expected, but he was targeted a grand total of zero times. The Cowboys wanted him to be a boundary eraser. He was in limited playing time.
Winner(s): DT Quinnen Williams and EDGE Rashan Gary
It was a much better outing for Williams, who recorded two pressures and a sack, which came in a high-leverage play. He added two tackles for loss. The Cowboys need more from him but this was a step in the right direction.
Meanwhile, Gary also took a step in the right direction. He got a sack and did a good job containing C.J. Stroud when the latter tried to take off.
Loser(s): EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku and Malachi Lawrence
Both players combined for two pressures (both from Ezeiruaku) and the fact is the Cowboys need more from them. Both make the list because in addition to a lack of production, they commited costly penalties in crunchtime.
Winner: TE Brevyn Spann-Ford
Make it one more week of Spann-Ford making plays on special teams. He’s making a case to be an All-Pro playing there but come on, let’s get him on the field on offense more often. He’s the best run blocker at the position in Dallas.
Winner: S Malik Hooker
The veteran safety deserves a spot on the list after he came back from a forearm surgery and delivered some of the biggest hits on the game, including two that led to two pass deflections.

