Texans Notebook: 4th Quarter Spoils Cowboys Upset Bid in 27-23 Loss

Three key takeaways from the Texans near-upset of the Cowboys.

If you thought the Houston Texans were walking into a blowout on the road against the Dallas Cowboys, you likely weren't alone. After all, the Cowboys were as much as 17-point favorites in some places. 

That was far from the case, though, as the Texans came out and punched the Cowboys in the mouth right out of the gate. They took a 20-17 lead into halftime and found themselves only two quarters away from the massive upset. 

Going into the fourth quarter the Texans held a 23-17 lead and appeared on the verge of their biggest win of the season, but then the fourth quarter happened. On the back of 10 unanswered points the Cowboys would rally and come from behind to beat the Texans 27-23. 

Now, here are three key takeaways from the Texans loss to the Cowboys. 

Fourth-quarter woes 

The Texans took a 23-17 lead into the fourth quarter against the Cowboys and seemingly were on track to pull off the massive upset. Then, in what has been a pattern throughout the season, they fell apart in the fourth quarter with a chance to put the game away. 

Perhaps no drive illustrates this better than Houston's offensive possession after a Dak Prescott interception that gave the Texans the ball at the Dallas four-yard line. A simple field goal would have made it a 26-20 lead, but instead they were stuffed on fourth and goal which led to Dallas' game-winning drive. 

Defense did the job

While one may look at the box score and see 27 points on 404 yards of total offense, that does not tell the full story of how well the Texans defense did against the Cowboys. However, the Texans defense answered the call when they needed to, despite the loss. 

After all, when you snag an interception and give the offense the ball inside the opponents 10-yard line with a chance to go up at the very least six points, you did your job. Two other turnovers and a goal line stand could have been enough, but unfortunately for Houston it wasn't quite enough. 

Hello, Chris Moore

While the Texans were unable to pull off the upset, there are reasons to be positive moving forward for Houston. Among them was receiver Chris Moore having far and away the best game of his season against a Cowboys defense that is one of the best in the NFL. 

Moore was the favorite target for the Texans' quarterbacks, bringing in a season high 10 receptions for 124 yards. With the Texans hurtling towards the No. 1 pick, and a decision to make at quarterback, the emergence of another potential weapon to work with on offense could be huge moving forward. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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